iPlliPil^^  Iliii  'i:\  i 

111  I 


LIBRARY 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA. 


Class 


By  JtJ^VEDE 


The  Youth  of  La  Grande  Mademoiselle 
1627-1652 

Authorized  English  Version.     Octavo.     Fully 
Illustrated.     (By  mail,   $3.25.)     Net,   $3.00 

Louis  XIV.  and  La  Grande  Mademoiselle 
1652-1693 

Authorized  English  Version.     Octavo.     Fully 
Illustrated.      (By   mail,    $3.25.)     Net,   $3.00 

G.  P.  PUTNAM'S  SONS 

Mew  York  London 


Cliche  Braun,  Clement  &  Cie. 
MADEMOISELLE  DE  MONTPENSIER 

She  is  holding  the  portrait  of  her  father,  Gaston  D'Orleans 

From  the  painting  by  Pierre  Bourgnignon  in  the  Musee  de  Versailles 

By  permission  of  Messrs.  Hachette  &  Co. 


Louis  XIV 

and 

La  Grande  Mademoiselle 

1652-169} 


By 

Arvede  Barine 

Author  of  (<  The  Youth  of  La  Grande  Mademoiselle" 


e. 


Authorised  English  Version 


G.  P.  Putnam's  Sons 

New   York  and  London 

Cbe  "Knickerbocker  pre06 

1905 


COPYRIGHT,  1905 

BY 
G.  P.  PUTNAM'S  SONS 


"Che  ftnicfeerbocfter  pvesg,  flew 


PREFACE 

IN  the  volume  entitled  The  Youth  of  La  Grande 
Mademoiselle  I  have  tried  to  present  the  con- 
ditions of  France  during  the  period  in  which  the 
ancient  liberties  of  the  people  and  the  turbulent 
society  which  had  abused  its  privileges  suffered, 
in  the  one  case  death,  in  the  other  extinction. 

As  is  always  the  case,  a  lack  of  proper  discipline 
had  prepared  the  way  for  absolute  rule,  and  the 
young  King  who  was  about  to  assume  full  power 
was  an  enigma  to  his  subjects.  The  nearest  rela- 
tives of  Louis  had  always  found  him  impenetrable. 
The  Grande  Mademoiselle  had  been  brought  up 
side  by  side  with  her  cousin,  but  she  was  entirely 
ignorant  of  his  real  character,  knowing  only  that  he 
was  silent  and  appeared  timid.  In  her  failure  to 
understand  the  King,  Mademoiselle  showed  herself 
again  a  true  child  of  her  century. 

At  the  moment  in  which  the  Prince  assumed  full 
power,  his  true  disposition,  thoughts,  and  beliefs 
were  entirely  hidden  from  the  public,  and  Saint- 
Simon  has  contributed  to  this  ignorance  by  pro- 
longing it  to  posterity.  Louis  XIV.  was  over 
fifty  when  this  terrible  writer  appeared  at  Court. 
The  Mtmoires  of  Saint-Simon  present  the  portrait 
of  a  man  almost  old ;  this  portrait  however  is  so 

iii 


228501 


iv  Preface 

powerful,  so  living  that  it  obliterates  every  other. 
The  public  sees  only  the  Louis  of  Saint-Simon  ; 
for  it,  the  youthful  King  as  he  lived  during  the 
troubled  and  passionate  period  of  his  career,  the 
period  that  was  most  interesting,  because  most 
vital,  has  never  existed. 

The  official  history  of  the  times  aids  in  giving  a 
false  impression  of  Louis  XIV.,  figuring  him  in  a 
sort  of  hieratic  attitude  between  an  idol  and  a 
manikin.  The  portraits  of  Versailles  again  mask  the 
Louis  of  the  young  Court,  the  man  for  whose  favour 
Moliere  and  the  Libertines  fought  with  varying 
chances  of  success. 

In  the  present  volume  I  have  tried  to  raise  a 
corner  of  this  mask. 

The  Memoir es  of  Louis  XIV.,  completely  edited 
for  the  first  time  according  to  any  methodical  plan 
in  1860,  have  greatly  aided  me  in  this  task.  They 
abound  in  confessions,  sometimes  aside,  sometimes 
direct,  of  the  matters  that  occupied  the  thoughts  of 
the  youthful  author.  The  Grande  Mademoiselle, 
capable  of  neither  reserve  nor  dissimulation,  has 
proved  the  next  most  valuable  guide  in  the  attempt 
to  penetrate  into  the  intimate  life  of  Louis.  As  re- 
lated by  her^the  perpetual  difficulties  with  the 
Prince  throw  a  vivid  light  upon  the  kind  of  incom- 
patibility of  temper  which  existed  at  the  beginning 
of  the  reign  between  absolute  power  and  the  sur- 
vivors of  the  Fronde. 

How  the  young  King  succeeded  in  directing  his 
generation  toward  new  ideas  and  sentiments  and 


Preface  v 

how  the  Grande  Mademoiselle,  too  late  carried 
away  by  the  torrent,  became  in  the  end  a  victim  to 
its  force,  will  be  seen  in  the  course  of  the  present 
volume,  provided,  that  is,  that  I  have  not  over- 
estimated my  powers  in  touching  upon  a  subject 
very  obscure,  very  delicate,  with  facts  drawn  from 
a  period  the  most  frequently  referred  to  and  yet  in 
some  respects  the  least  comprehended  of  the  entire 
history  of  France. 

A.  B. 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  I 

PACK 

Exile — Provincial  Life  —  Conversation  at  Saint-Fargeau  —  Senti- 
ment towards  Nature  in  the  Seventeenth  Century — Differences 
between  Mademoiselle  and  her  Father — Mademoiselle  Returns 
to  Court  .  .  .  .  .  .  ...  .  ...  1-57 

CHAPTER   II 

The  Education  of  Louis  XIV. — Manners — Poverty — Charity — Vin- 
cent de  Paul,  a  Secret  Society — Marriage  of  Louis  XIV. — His 
Arrival  at  Power  on  the  Death  of  Mazarin — He  Re-educates 
Himself 58-119 

CHAPTER  III 

Mademoiselle  at  the  Luxembourg — Her  Salon — The  "Anatomies" 
of  the  Heart  —  Projects  of  Marriage,  and  New  Exile  —  Louis 
XIV.  and  the  Libertines— Fragility  of  Fortune  in  Land — Fttes 
Galantes  .  .  .  ....  .  .  .  120-184 

CHAPTER  IV 

^wX* 

Increasing  Importance  of  the  Affairs  of  Love — The  Corrupters  of 
Morals — Birth  of  Dramatic  Music  and  its  Influence — Love 
in  Racine  —  Louis  XIV.  and  the  Nobility  —  The  King  is 
Polygamous 185-236 

CHAPTER  V 

The  Grande  Mademoiselle  in  Love — Sketch  of  Lauzun  and  their 
Romance — The  Court  on  its  Travels —  Death  of  Madame — An- 
nouncement of  the  Marriage  of  Mademoiselle — General  Conster- 
nation— Louis  XIV.  Breaks  the  Affair 237-303 

vii 


viii  Contents 

CHAPTER  VI 

PAGB 

Was  Mademoiselle  secretly  Married? — Imprisonment  of  Lauzun — 
Splendour  and  Decadence  of  France — La  Chambre  Ardente — 
Mademoiselle  Purchases  Lauzun's  Freedom — Their  Embroilment 
— Death  of  the  Grande  Mademoiselle  —  Death  of  Lauzun  — 
Conclusion 304-37? 

INDEX 379 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


MADEMOISELLE  DE  MONTPENSIER  .         .         .  Frontispiece 

She  is  holding  the  portrait  of  her  father,  Gaston  d'Or- 
leans.  From  the  painting  by  Pierre  Bourguignon  in  the 
Musee  de  Versailles.  By  permission  of  Messrs.  Hachette 
&Co. 

ANNE  MARIE  LOUISE  D'ORLE"ANS,  DUCHESSE  DE  MONT- 
PENSIER   *       •<; ••;:     4 

From  the  enamel  by  Petitot  in  the  South  Kensington 
Museum. 

CARDINAL  DE  RETZ       .......       24 

Showing  him  in  his  coadjuteur  days.  After  the  painting 
by  Deveria. 

JULIUS  HARDOUIN  MANSART          .        *        .        .        .      26 

After  the  painting  by  Vivien. 

JEAN  DE  LA  FONTAINE  .        .        .        ;        .        .        -54 

From  an  engraving  by  Grevedon. 

Louis  XIV.  AS  A  BOY,  DEDICATING  HIS  CROWN    .        .      62 

After  the  painting  by  Greg  Huret. 

Louis  XIV.  AS  A  YOUNG  MAN 72 

From  a  chalk  drawing  in  the  British  Museum  Print  Room. 

FRANCOIS  DE  LA  ROCHEFOUCAULD    ....  130 

From  the  engraving  by  Hopwood  after  the  painting  by 
Petitot. 

HELE"NE  LAMBERT,  MADAME  DE  MOTTEVILLE        .        .     150 

After  the  painting  by  De  Largilliere. 


x  Illustrations 

PAGE 

LOUISE  DE  LA  VALLIERE 154 

From  the  engraving  by  Flameng  after  the  painting  by 
Petitot. 

JEAN  BAPTISTS  COLBERT 170 

After  the  painting  by  Champaign. 

'"  PLEASURES  OF  THE  ISLAND  OF  ENCHANTMENT." 
SCENE  ON  THE  FIRST  DAY  OF  THE  PLAY,  BEFORE 
THE  KING  AT  VERSAILLES 172 

From  the  engraving  by  Israel  Silvestre. 

"  PLEASURES  OF  THE  ISLAND  OF  ENCHANTMENT."    SEC- 
OND DAY 174 

From  the  engraving  by  Israel  Silvestre. 

GENERAL  VIEW  OF  THE  CHATEAU  OF  VERSAILLES          .     176 

From  the  engraving  by  Israel  Silvestre,  1664. 

THE  FRONT  OF  THE  LOUVRE  IN  COURSE  OF  ERECTION  .     178 

From  the  engraving  by  S.  le  Clerc,  1677. 

JEAN  BAPTISTE  POQUELIN  MOLIERE      ....     180 

After  the  painting  by  Noel  Coypel. 

MADAME  HENRIETTE  D'ORL£ANS  .  .     194 

From  the  painting  by  Mignard  in  the  National  Portrait 
Gallery.     (Photograph  by  Walker,  London.) 

MADAME  DE  MONTESPAN       ....  .200 

From  the  engraving  by  Flameng  after  the  painting  by 
Mignard. 

LA  VOISIN 206 

From  a  print  in  the  Bibliotheque  Nationale. 

JEAN  BAPTISTE  DE  LULLI 216 

After  a  contemporary  print  by  Bonnart. 

BOILEAU 220 

After  the  painting  by  H.  Rigaud. 

Due  DE  LAUZUN 244 

By  permission  of  Messrs.  Hachette  &  Co. 


Illustrations  xi 

PACK 

MADAME  DE  SEVIGN£ 282 

From  the  painting  by  Pietro  Mignard  in  the  Uffizi  Gal- 
lery, Florence.     (Photograph  by  Alinari.) 

VIEW  OF  THE  PALACE  AND  GARDENS  OF  THE  TUILERIES     330 

From  an  engraving  by  Israel  Silvestre,  1673. 

VIEW  OF  THE  RESIDENCE  OF  COLBERT,  SHOWING  ALSO 

HIS  SEAL 332 

From  an  engraving  by  Israel  Silvestre,  1675. 

VIEW  OF  THE  CHATEAU  OF  VERSAILLES,  SHOWING  THE 

FOUNTAIN  OF  THE  DRAGON 334 

From  an  engraving  by  Israel  Silvestre,  1676. 

DUCHESSE  DE  LA  VALLIERE  AND  HER  CHILDREN      .  .       336 

From  the  painting  by  P.  Mignard  in  the  possession  of  the 
Marquise  d'Oilliamson. 

LOUISE  DE  LA  VALLIERE,  IN  THE  GARB  OF  THE  ORDER 

OF  THE  CARMELITES 338 

After  the  painting  by  D.  Plaats. 

MADAME  DE  MAINTENON 340 

After  the  painting  by  P.  Mignard  in  1694. 


LOUIS  XIV.  AND  LA  GRANDE 
MADEMOISELLE 


CHAPTER  I 

Exile — Provincial  Life  —  Conversation  at  Saint-Fargeau  —  Sentiment 
towards  Nature  in  the  Seventeenth  Century — Differences  between 
Mademoiselle  and  her  Father — Mademoiselle  Returns  to  Court. 

THE  Fronde  was  an  abortive  revolution.  It  was 
condemned  in  advance,  the  leaders  having 
never  clearly  known  what  ends  they  were  seeking. 
The  consequences  of  its  failure  proved  to  be  of 
profound  importance  to  France.  The  civil  disor- 
ders existing  between  1648  and  1652  were  the  last 
efforts  of  the  French  against  the  establishing  of 
absolute  monarchy,  to  the  strengthening  of  which 
the  entire  regency  of  Anne  of  Austria  had  tended. 
The  end  of  these  disorders  signified  that  the  nation, 
wearied  and  discouraged,  had  accepted  the  new 
regime.  The  result  was  a  great  transformation, 
political  and  moral,  so  great  that  the  Fronde  may 
be  considered  as  clearly  marking  a  separation  be- 
tween two  periods  of  French  history  —  a  deep 
abyss  as  it  were  between  the  times  which  precede 
and  those  which  follow. 


2  Louis  XIV.  and 

The  leaders  of  the  Fronde  had  been  dispersed 
by  the  return  of  the  King  to  his  capital  on  Octo- 
ber 21,  1652.  When  the  exiles  returned,  some 
sooner,  some  later,  the  last  after  the  Peace  of 
the  Pyrenees  (November  7,  1659),  so  great  a 
change  had  taken  place  in  ideas  and  customs 
that  more  than  one  exile  felt  himself  in  a  strange 
land. 

It  was  necessary  to  adjust  oneself  to  the  new 
atmosphere.  It  was  very  much  the  same  situation 
— though  the  Frondeurs  were  under  much  lighter 
accusations  —  as  that  experienced  by  the  tmigrts 
returning  under  the  Consulate.  The  Princess,  the 
events  of  whose  heroic  years  have  been  related, 
offers  an  excellent  example  of  this  condition. 

When  the  Grande  Mademoiselle,  who  had  urged 
on  the  civil  war  in  order  to  force  Louis  XIV.  into 
marriage  with  herself,  obtained  at  the  end  of  five 
years,  permission  to  return  to  Court,  she  brought 
with  her  the  old  undisciplined  habits  which  were  no 
longer  in  fashion,  and  in  the  end  incurred  much  that 
was  disagreeable.  Exile  had  not  weakened  her 
pride.  According  to  a  celebrated  formula,  she  had 
learned  nothing,  she  had  forgotten  nothing;  she 
remained  that  person  of  impulse  of  whom  Mme.  de 
Sevign£  said,  "  I  do  not  care  to  mix  myself  with 
her  impetuosities."1 

Far  be  it  from  me  to  reproach  Mademoiselle ! 
all  honour  be  to  her  who  stood  firm  in  the  age  of 
servility  which  succeeded  the  Fronde  !  In  other 

1  Letter  of  January  19,  1689. 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  3 

respects  exile  had  been  most  healthful  for  her.  She 
had  been  obliged  to  seek  in  herself  resources  the 
finding  of  which  surprised  her.  Mademoiselle 
naively  admires  herself  in  her  Mtmoires 1  for  never 
having  experienced  a  single  moment  of  ennui  "  in 
the  greatest  desert  in  the  world,"  and  surely  she 
deserves  praise,  as  her  first  experiences  at  Saint- 
Fargeau  would  have  crushed  most  women. 

The  reader  will  be  convinced  of  this  if  he  im- 
agines himself  in  her  company  the  night  of  arrival 
in  the  early  days  of  November,  1652.  At  the 
end  of  The  Youth  of  La  Grande  Mademoiselle  we 
left  her  weeping  without  shame  before  her  entire 
suite.  Her  dream  of  glory  had  evaporated.  Anne- 
Marie-Louise  d'Orleans  would  never  be  queen  of 
France.  She  would  take  no  more  cities ;  pass  no 
more  troops  at  review  to  the  sound  of  trumpet  and 
cannon.  Three  weeks  previous,  the  great  Conde 
had  treated  her  as  a  companion  in  arms.  She  re- 
joiced the  soldiers  by  her  martial  carriage,  and  any 
one  of  them  would  have  been  not  only  surprised 
but  very  indignant  if  it  had  been  suggested  that 
she  was  capable  of  being  almost  as  cowardly  as  her 
father,  the  "  triste  Gaston." 

Now  all  that  was  finished,  even  the  romantic 
flight.  While  playing  hide-and-seek  with  im- 
aginary pursuers,  the  Grande  Mademoiselle  had 
fallen  into  a  state  of  physical  and  moral  prostration. 
The  heroine  of  Orleans  and  of  Porte  Saint-Antoine 
sobbed  like  a  little  child  because  she  "  had  too 

1  M /moires  de  Mademoiselle  de  Montpensier.     Edited  by  Cheruel. 


4  Louis  XIV.  and 

much  grief  "  and  was  "  too  afraid  " * ;  the  aspect  of 
her  future  home  had  taken  away  the  last  remnants 
of  courage. 

The  Chateau  of  Saint-Fargeau,  begun  under 
Hugh  Capet  and  often  repaired,  particularly  during 
the  fifteenth  century,  seemed  more  like  a  fortress 
than  a  peaceful  dwelling.  Its  heavy  mass  dominated 
the  valley  of  the  Loing,  a  region  of  great  and  dense 
forests,  with  few  clearings.  Itself  enveloped  with 
brushwood  and  protected  by  deep  moats,  the 
chateau  harmonised  well  with  the  surroundings.  Its 
windows  opened  at  a  great  height  above  the 
ground,  and  its  towers  were  strong.  The  body  of 
the  building  was  massive  and  bare,  united  by  strong 
ramparts  forming  an  enceinte  irregular  with  severe 
appearance. 

The  ensemble  was  imposing,  never  smiling.  Saint- 
Fargeau,  long  uninhabited,  was  almost  a  ruin  filled 
with  rats  at  the  time  when  Mademoiselle  presented 
herself  as  a  fugitive.  She  was  shown  into  a  room 
with  a  prop  in  the  centre.  Coming  from  the  palace 
of  the  Tuileries,  this  sight  overwhelmed  her,  and 
made  her  realise  the  depth  of  her  fall.  She  had  an 
access  of  despair :  "  I  am  most  unfortunate  to  be 
absent  from  Court,  to  have  only  a  dwelling  as  ugly 
as  this,  and  to  realise  that  this  is  the  best  of  my 
chateaux."  Her  fear  became  terror  when  she  dis- 
covered that  doors  and  windows  were  lacking.  A 
report  came  from  a  valet  that  she  was  sought  for 
imprisonment,  and  she  was  too  confused  to  reflect 

1  Mtmoires  de  Mademoiselle  de  Montpensier .     Edited  by  Cheruel. 


ANNE  MARIE  LOUISE  D'ORLEANS,  DUCHESSE  DE  MONTPENSIER 

From  the  enamel  by  Petitot  in  the  South  Kensington 

Museum 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  5 

that  if  the  King  had  ordered  her  arrest  locks  would 
have  been  useless. 

She  continued  her  journey  to  reach  a  little  cha- 
teau, situated  two  leagues  from  Saint-Fargeau,  which 
was  reported  safer.  "  Imagine,"  says  she,  "  with  what 
pleasure  I  made  the  extra  journey.  I  had  risen 
two  hours  before  daylight ;  I  had  ridden  twenty-two 
miles  upon  a  horse  already  worn  out  with  previous 
travel.  We  arrived  at  our  destination  at  three  in  the 
morning;  I  went  to  bed  in  haste."  The  crisis  was 
short.  The  next  day  it  was  explained  to  Mademoi- 
selle that  Saint-Fargeau  had  two  exits  in  case  of 
alarm.  She  returned  in  consequence  on  the  fourth 
day,  and  there  was  no  more  question  of  grief,  nor 
even  ill-temper ;  from  that  moment  the  place  was 
"good  and  strong." 

The  Princess  adapted  herself  to  the  glassless 
windows,  the  broken  ceilings,  the  absence  of  doors, 
and  all  the  rest.  The  great  ladies  of  the  seventeenth 
century  were  fortunately  not  too  particular.  Ma- 
demoiselle encamped  in  a  cellar  while  the  apart- 
ment above  was  being  repaired,  and  was  forced  to 
borrow  a  bed.  She  recovered  all  her  gaiety  before 
the  comicality  of  the  situation  :  "  for  the  first  cousin 
of  the  King  of  France."  "  Happily  for  me,"  wrote 
she,  "  the  bailiff  of  the  chateau  had  been  recently 
married  ;  therefore  he  possessed  a  new  bed."  The 
bed  of  Madame  the  Bailiff  was  the  great  resource  of 
the  chateau.  It  was  returned  as  soon  as  the  Princess 
received  her  own  from  Paris,  but  it  was  again  used 
to  give  a  resting-place  to  the  Christmas  guests, 


6  Louis  XIV.  and 

many  of  whom  appeared — a  fact  to  the  credit  of  the 
French  nobility — as  soon  as  it  was  known  where 
the  illustrious  unfortunate  was  passing  her  period 
of  banishment. 

Mademoiselle  did  not  know  how  to  provide  for 
these  guests  and  the  most  important  were  lodged 
with  the  bailiff.  The  Duchess  of  Sully  and  her  sis- 
ter, the  Marquise  of  Laval,  came  together  for  a  pro- 
longed sojourn  and  performed  the  office  of  shuttle 
between  the  cellar  in  which  the  Grande  Mademoi- 
selle held  her  court  and  "  the  new  bed  of  the  city  of 
Saint-Fargeau."  Ladies  of  quality  arriving  at  this 
time  lodged  where  they  could  with  small  regard  to 
comfort,  and  this  condition  lasted  until  the  chateau 
was  put  in  order.  Every  one  suffered  but  nobody 
complained.  There  was  a  certain  elegance  in  this 
haughty  fashion  of  ignoring  comfort,  the  importance 
of  which  in  our  own  days  seems  in  comparison  rather 
bourgeois,  in  the  worst  sense  of  the  word. 

Gradually  all  was  arranged.  The  chateau  was 
restored,  the  apartments  enlarged.1  The  over- 
growth of  the  approaches  gave  place  to  a  terrace 
from  which  to  the  surprise  of  all  a  charming  view 
was  discovered.  The  Saint-Fargeau  of  the  Capets 
and  of  the  first  Valois,  "a  place  so  wild,"  says 
Mademoiselle,  "that  when  I  arrived,  only  herbs  fit 
for  soup  were  to  be  found,"  became  a  beautiful 
residence,  hospitable  and  animated. 

1  The  Chateau  of  Saint-Fargeau  still  exists,  but  the  interior  has  been 
transformed  since  a  great  fire  which  occurred  in  1752;  the  apartments  of 
Mademoiselle  no  longer  remain.  Cf.  Les  Chateaux  d'Ancy-U-Frane,  de 
Saint-Fargeau,  etc.,  by  the  Baron  Chaillou  des  Barres. 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  7 

The  mistress  of  the  place  loved  open  air  and 
movement,  as  did  all  the  French  nobility  before 
an  absolute  monarchy,  in  the  interest  of  order  and 
peace,  had  trained  them  to  rest  tranquilly  in  the 
salons  of  Versailles.  Muscular  decadence  com- 
menced with  the  French  at  the  epoch  when  it 
became  the  fashion  to  pass  the  days  in  silk  stock- 
ings and  practising  bows,  under  punishment  of 
being  excluded  from  all  society.  Violent  exercises 
were  abandoned  or  made  more  gentle.1  Attention 
was  paid  only  to  what  gave  majestic  grace  to  the 
body  in  harmony  with  the  Versailles  "  Galerie  of 
Mirrors." 

The  bourgeoisie  were  eager  to  imitate  the  peo- 
ple of  quality,  and  the  higher  classes  paid  for  their 
fine  manners  or  their  attempts  at  fine  manners  with 
the  headaches  and  nervous  disorders  of  the  eight- 
eenth century.  The  taste  for  sport  has  only  re- 
appeared in  France  during  our  own  times.  We 
are  now  witnessing  its  resurrection. 

This  taste,  however,  was  still  lively  immediately 
after  the  Fronde,  and  Mademoiselle  abandoned 
herself  to  it  with  passion.  She  ordered  from  Eng- 
land a  pack  of  hounds  and  hunters.  She  possessed 
many  equipages.  With  a  game  of  marl  before  the 
chateau,  indoor  games  for  rainy  days,  violins  from 
the  Tuileries  to  play  for  dancing,  it  would  be  diffi- 
cult to  find  a  court  more  brisk,  more  constantly  in 
joyous  movement. 

lCf.  Les  Sports  et  jeux  d'exercice  dans  V  ancienne  France,  by  J.  J.  Jus- 
serand. 


8  Louis  XIV.  and 

Mademoiselle,  whom  nothing  tired,  set  an  ex- 
ample, and  seasoned  these  "  games  of  action  "  with 
causeries,  some  of  which  happily  have  been  pre- 
served for  us  by  Segrais,1  her  Secretary  of  the 
Commandments.  Thanks  to  him,  we  know,  even 
admitting  that  he  may  have  slightly  rearranged  his 
reports,  what  they  talked  about  at  the  court  of 
Saint-Fargeau,  and  one  cannot  fail  to  be  somewhat 
surprised.  He  tells  us  all  sorts  of  things  of  which 
we  never  should  have  dreamed,  things  that  we 
have  never  imagined  as  subjects  of  interest  in  the 
seventeenth  century.  In  this  age  which  believed 
itself  entirely  indifferent  towards  nature,  conversa- 
tion nevertheless  fell  ceaselessly  upon  the  beauties 
of  landscape.  People  paused  to  admire  "points 
of  view,"  sought  them,  and  endeavoured  to  explain 
why  they  were  beautiful.  The  reasons  given  were, 
that  those  who  knew  how  to  enjoy  a  large  for- 
est and  "  the  beautiful  carpet  of  moss  at  the  feet," 
actually  preferred  landscapes  made  more  intelligible 
through  the  intervention  of  man.  A  desert  pleased 
them  less  than  an  inhabited  country,  a  wild  land- 
scape less  than  sunny  collections  of  cultivated 
fields  and  orchards  symmetrically  planted,  recalling 
"  the  agreeable  variety  of  parterres  made  by  the 
ingenuity  of  man." 

Mademoiselle  praises  in  her  Mtmoires  the  view 

1  LES  NOUVELLES  FRANQAISES,  ou  Les  divertissements  de  la  princesse 
Aurttie,  by  Segrais,  Paris,  2  vols.,  1656-1657.  The  last  of  the  "  Nouvelles 
frar^aises,"  Floridon,  ou  I* amour  imprudent,  is  the  history  of  the  intrigues 
in  the  harem  which  led  to  the  death  of  Bajazet.  Racine  had  certainly  read 
it  when  he  wrote  his  tragedy. 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  9 

from  the  end  of  the  terrace.  She  attempts  to  de- 
scribe it  and  fails.  Segrais  also  tries  in  vain.  It 
was  impossible  at  that  epoch.  The  vocabulary  did 
not  exist  which  could  furnish  words  to  describe  a 
landscape.  The  creation  of  our  descriptive  vocab- 
ulary is  one  of  Bernardin  de  Saint-Pierre's 1  greatest 
glories.  In  compensation,  Segrais  knew  very  well 
how  to  explain  why  the  beauty  of  the  view,  about 
which  he  had  so  ineffectively  written,  pleased  him 
and  his  companions.  He  said  that,  arranged  by 
chance,  it  conformed  to  the  rules  of  classic  pictures 
and  in  no  way  appeared  the  sole  work  of  nature. 
Neither  the  valley  of  the  Loing  nor  the  immense 
marsh  which  closed  this  side  of  the  chateau,  nor 
the  island  in  the  midst  of  this  marsh,  with  clumps 
of  trees,  nor  the  church  and  small  height  which 
could  be  perceived,  seemed  placed  without  human 
intervention.  "  And  this,"  writes  Segrais,  "  is  so 
well  represented  in  those  excellent  landscapes  of  the 
great  artists,  that  all  who  look  upon  it  believe  that 
they  have  seen  the  marsh,  church,  and  little  island 
in  a  thousand  pictures." 

Literature,  imaginative  literature  at  least,  also 
held  a  considerable  place  in  the  conversation. 
Mademoiselle,  who  had  read  nothing  before  her 
sojourn  at  Saint-Fargeau,  was  anxious  to  make  up 
for  lost  time.  "  I  am  a  very  ignorant  creature," 
writes  she,  at  the  beginning  of  her  exile,  "  detest- 
ing reading  and  having  seen  only  the  gazettes. 

1  See  Bernardin  de  Saint-Pierre,  in  the  Collection  of  Grands  ecrivains. 
Paris,  Hochette. 


io  Louis  XIV.  and 

Henceforth  I  am  going  to  apply  myself  and  see 
if  it  be  possible  to  like  a  thing  from  deliberate 
determination." 

Success  surpassed  her  hopes ;  she  conceived  a 
passion  for  reading.  In  the  winter  of  1652-1653, 
during  which  there  were  few  distractions,  and  the 
chateau  was  given  over  to  workmen  ;  when  the 
bad  weather  and  the  rough  roads  rendered  Saint- 
Fargeau  unapproachable,  and  left  the  castle  soli- 
tary, she  read,  or  listened  to  reading  while  plying 
her  needle,  without  being  bored. 

I  laboured  from  morning  till  night  at  my  work  and  descended 
from  my  chamber  only  to  dine  or  to  be  present  at  mass. 
The  winter  weather  was  so  bad  that  walking  was  impossible. 
If  there  ever  was  a  moment  of  fine  weather  I  rode,  or  if  the 
ground  was  too  frozen  I  walked  a  little  to  watch  my  workmen. 
While  I  sewed  some  one  read  to  me,  and  it  was  at  this  period 
that  I  began  to  love  reading  as  I  have  done  ever  since. 

At  the  end  of  some  years  of  banishment  her 
" erudition"  struck  Dr.  Huet,  who  met  her  at  the 
baths  of  Forges.  "  She  loves  history  passionately," 
says  he  in  his  Mtmoires,  "  but  above  all,  romances, 
so-called.  While  her  women  were  dressing  her 
hair,  she  desired  me  to  read  aloud,  and  no  matter 
what  the  subject,  it  provoked  a  thousand  ques- 
tions on  her  part.  In  this  I  well  recognised  the 
acuteness  of  her  mind." 

The  fashionable  romances  easily  pleased  a  Prin- 
cess who  had  a  grandeur  of  soul  and  loved  to 
meet  it  in  others.  They  were  the  works  of 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  1 1 

Gomberville,1  of  La  Calprenede,  and  of  Mile,  de 
Scudery,  in  which  the  sheepfolds  and  dove-cotes  of 
l'Astre*e  had  yielded  to  the  heroic  adventures  and 
grand  sentiments  of  princes  warlike  and  proud, 
who,  notwithstanding  their  exotic  names,  were  the 
same  who  resisted  under  Richelieu,  and  lead  the 
Fronde  under  Mazarin.  The  generations  born 
in  the  first  third  of  the  century  were  charmed  with 
the  resemblance  to  their  own  heroes  which  these 
tales  offered  them.  They  went  wild  with  delight 
over  Scythe,  Oroondate,  or  the  Grand  Cyrus,  as 
they  were  fascinated  with  Saint-Preux  and  Lelia, 
and  many  readers  remained  faithful  till  death  to 
these  writers  who  had  so  well  expressed  the  ideals 
of  their  youth. 

At  sixty,  La  Rochefoucauld  re-read  La  Calprenede. 
Mme.  de  Sevigne  was  a  grandmother  when  she 
found  herself  "  glued  "  to  CUopdtre.  "  The  beauty 
of  the  sentiments,"  writes  she,  "  and  the  violence 
of  the  passions,  the  grandeur  of  the  events,  and 
the  marvellous  successes  of  the  redoubtable 
swords,  all  enchain  me  as  if  I  were  still  a  little 
child.  The  sentiments  are  of  a  perfection  which 
satisfy  my  conception  of  beautiful  souls."2 

Realism  and  Naturalism  have  in  the  present  day 
destroyed  the  capacity  for  enthusiasm  for  heroes  of 
romance.  One's  imagination  can  hardly  be  kindled 

1  His  Polexandre  had  appeared,  1629-1637  ;  his  last  romance,  La  Jeune 
Alddiane,  in  1651;  Cassandre  and  Cttopatre,  by  La  Calprenede,  in  1642-1647. 
Artamlne,  ou  le  Grand  Cyrus,  by  Mile,  de  Scudery,  was  published  1649— 

1653- 
9  Letters  of  the  I2th  and  isth  of  July,  1671,  to  Mme.  de  Grignan. 


12  .         Louis  XIV.  and 

by  a  Coupeau  or  a  Nana,  nor  even  by  a  Madame 
Bovary,  whatever  may  be  the  literary  value  of  the 
works  in  which  they  figure.  For  the  little  court  of 
Saint- Fargeau  it  was  hardly  possible  to  speak 
calmly  of  the  favourite  heroes.  One  day,  followed 
by  a  numerous  assemblage,  Mademoiselle  drove  in 
the  fresh  valley  of  the  Loing  and  descended  from 
her  chariot  under  the  tall  willows  which  bordered 
the  little  river.  It  was  spring  and  the  sun  was 
radiant.  The  new  grass  and  the  growing  leaves 
offered  a  picture  so  "  laughing  "  that  nothing  else 
could  at  first  be  spoken  of.  While  walking,  the 
conversation  finally  turned  upon  romance,  and  each 
fought  for  the  favourite  hero.  The  discussion  was 
waxing  warm  when  the  Princess,  who  had  hardly 
spoken,  intervened  to  moderate  its  ardour.  After 
avowing  that  she  had  read  but  little,  she  gave  an 
eulogium  upon  Roman  history,  or  rather  what  it 
might  become,  better  comprehended  in  the  hands 
of  a  learned  writer,  and  criticised  the  custom  of 
giving  French  manners  to  Greeks,  Persians,  or 
Indians. 

Mademoiselle  desired  greater  "  historic  truth  " 
and  what  might  be  designated  as  more  local  colour. 
Why  not  frankly  take  characters  from  French  con- 
temporaries ?  "I  am  astonished,"  she  said  in  end- 
ing, "  that  so  many  people  of  intelligence  who  have 
created  for  us  such  worthy  Scythians  and  such  gener- 
ous Parthians  have  not  taken  the  same  pleasure  in 
imagining  as  accomplished  French  cavaliers  or 
princes  :  whose  adventures  would  not  have  been  less 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  13 

pleasing."  After  a  moment's  silence,  objections  were 
advanced.  The  idea  of  writing  a  romance  upon  the 
"  war  of  Paris  "  seemed  very  daring.  One  young  lady 
very  naively  urged  that  the  author  would  not  know 
how  to  name  his  characters.  "  The  French,"  said 
she,  "  naturally  love  foreign  names.  Arabaze,  Iphi- 
damante,  Crosmane,  are  beautiful  names  ;  Rohan, 
Lorraine,  Montmorency,  are  nothing  of  the  kind." 

The  old  Mme.  de  Choissy,  with  the  authority 
given  by  her  noted  intelligence,  tried  to  prove  that 
in  an  imaginative  recital  both  time  and  space  must 
be  distant.  One  Marquise  appeared  wearied  of 
the  kings  and  emperors  of  romance,  and  desired 
heroes  taken  from  the  middle  class.  Another, 
Mme.  de  Mauny,  who  was  supposed1  to  have  in- 
vented the  expression  "  s  encanailler"  asserted  that 
it  was  forbidden  to  heroes  of  romance  to  do  or  say 
anything  derogatory  to  pure  sentiment,  which  was 
possible  to  those  of  "  high  birth  only."  Mademoi- 
selle maintained  the  necessity  of  observation  and 
truth  for  the  tale,  but  she  admitted  that  the  author 
of  a  great  romance,  writing  as  a  "  poet,"  had  the 
right  to  imagine  events,  instead  of  servilely  copying 
them.  "  The  tale,"  said  she,  "  relates  things  as 
they  are,  the  romance  as  they  should  be." 

This  distinction  neither  lacks  acuteness  nor  a 
certain  justice,  and  we  should  like  to  know  how 
much  Segrais  had  contributed  to  it.  No  one  hav- 
ing replied  to  this  last  remark,  the  Princess  re- 
mounted her  carriage,  and  gave  the  order  to  follow 

1  See  Le  dictionnaire  des  Pr/deuses,  by  Somaize. 


14  Louis  XIV.  and 

the  pack  of  hounds,  which  had  just  started  a  hare  a 
few  steps  off.  She  was  obeyed,  in  spite  of  the  ob- 
stacles which  the  country  presented,  and  she  re- 
turned to  the  chateau,  very  well  satisfied  with  her 
afternoon. 

At  Saint-Fargeau  they  talked  more  frequently  of 
love  than  of  either  literature  or  the  beauties  of 
nature.  Love  is  a  subject  of  which  women  never 
weary,  and  about  which  they  always  have  something 
to  say.  Mademoiselle  lent  herself  completely  to 
such  conversation  ;  it  was  she  who  one  day  posed 
a  question  the  subtlety  of  which  the  Hotel  Ram- 
bouillet  might  have  enjoyed.  "  Whose  absence 
causes  the  greater  anguish,  a  lover  who  should  be 
loved  or  one  who  should  not  be  ?  " 

She  consented  to  admit  the  ideas  of  TAstree  upon 
the  fatality  of  passion,  on  the  condition  that  the 
effects  should  be  limited  to  personages  of  romance, 
or  in  real  life  to  those  of  humble  birth.  Segrais 
makes  her  say  without  protest  in  a  tale l  ascribed  to 
her  "  Man  is  not  free  to  love  or  not  to  love  as  he 
pleases."  In  the  depths  of  her  soul,  in  her  most 
intimate  thoughts,  Mademoiselle  had  never  been 
further  from  comprehending  love,  never  had  she 
more  energetically  refused  for  it  any  beauty,  any 
grandeur.  One  of  her  ladies,  the  gracious  Fronte- 
nac,  with  her  eyes  "  filled  with  light,"  had  made  a 
marriage  of  inclination,  an  act  absurd,  base,  and 
shameful  in  the  judgment  of  Mademoiselle,  her 
mistress.  The  marriage  turned  out  badly.  M.  de 

1  Eugdnit ',  ou  la  force  du  destin. 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  15 

Frontenac  was  eccentric.  His  young  wife  at  first 
feared,  then  hated  him,  and  at  Saint-Fargeau  there 
passed  between  the  couple  tragi-comic  scenes,  of 
which  no  one  could  be  ignorant. 

Mademoiselle  had  just  commenced  her  Mtmoirts? 
She  eagerly  relates  the  conjugal  quarrels  of  M.  and 
Mme.  de  Frontenac  with  more  details  than  it 
would  be  suitable  to  repeat,  and  this  was  the  oppor- 
tunity for  an  outburst  against  the  folly  of  try- 
ing to  found  marriage  upon  the  most  fickle  of 
human  feelings.  She  writes  : 

I  have  always  had  a  strong  aversion  for  even  legitimate 
love.  This  passion  appears  to  me  unworthy  of  a  noble  soul  ; 
but  I  am  now  confirmed  in  this  opinion,  and  I  comprehend 
well  that  reason  has  but  little  to  do  with  affairs  of  passion. 
Passion  passes  quickly,  is  never,  in  fact,  of  long  duration. 
One  may  be  unhappy  for  life  in  entering  upon  marriage  for  so 
transient  a  feeling,  but  on  the  other  hand,  happy  if  one  mar- 
ries for  reason  and  other  imaginable  considerations,  even  if 
physical  aversion  exists  ;  for  I  believe  that  one  often  loves 
more  with  this  aversion  conquered. 

The  principle  may  be  sage,  but  the  Grande 
Mademoiselle  is  too  sure  of  her  fact.  This  "  even 
if  aversion  exists "  is  difficult  to  digest.  The 
Princess  was  nearing  her  thirtieth  year,  when  she 
treated  love  with  contempt,  and  nothing  had  yet 
warned  her  of  the  imprudence  of  defying  nature ; 
so  she  believed  herself  well  protected. 

In  the  spring  of  1683,  the  rumour  had  spread 

1  Mademoiselle  commenced  her  Me'moires  shortly  after  her  arrival  at 
Saint-Fargeau.  She  interrupted  them  in  1660,  resumed  them  in  1677,  and 
definitely  abandoned  them  in  1688,  five  years  before  her  death. 


1 6  Louis  XIV.  and 

that  she  and  M.  le  Prince  de  Conde  had  promised  to 
marry,  in  the  expectation  and  hope  of  being  soon 
relieved  of  the  Princess  de  Conde,  now  a  hopeless 
invalid,  and  that  the  imagination  of  Mademoiselle, 
for  lack  of  heart,  pressed  her  "furiously"  in  this 
affair.  The  Parisian  salons  had  discovered  no  other 
explanation  for  the  hostile  attitude  which  she  per- 
sisted in  maintaining  towards  the  Court  of  France, 
which  she  had  so  much  interest  in  conciliating.  It 
was  inconceivable  that  without  some  reason  of  this 
kind  she  should  compromise  herself  as  she  did,  for 
a  Prince  who  had  become  an  alien  and  whom  she 
might  never  again  see.  Why  betray  news  through 
letters  which  always  fell  into  the  hands  of  Mazarin  ? 
Why  leave  to  Conde,  now  a  Spanish  General,  the 
companies  raised  under  the  Fronde  with  the  funds 
of  Mademoiselle  and  bearing  her  name  ?  Either  she 
had  lost  her  senses  or  one  might  expect  some  ro- 
mantic prank,  which  could  only  be  unravelled  by 
marriage. 

"  Have  you  told  everything  ?  "  demanded  Madem- 
oiselle of  the  old  Countess  de  Fiesque,  her  former 
governess,  one  morning,  when  this  last  poured  out 
the  comments  of  the  world.  "  No,"  said  the  good 
woman.  Her  mistress  let  her  proceed,  then  ex- 
pressed herself  as  indignant  that  she  should  have 
been  believed  capable  of  marrying  on  account  of 
a  sudden  passion  ;  the  other  reproaches  had  not 
touched  her. 

She  declared  that  M.  le  Prince  had  never  spoken 
of  marriage,  that  it  would  be  time  to  think  of  this 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  17 

if  Madame  la  Princesse  should  die,  when  M.  le 
Prince  should  be  pardoned,  when  he  should  for- 
mally demand  her  hand,  and  the  King  should  ap- 
prove the  affair. 

I  believe  [continued  she]  that  I  should  marry  him  finding 
in  his  personality  only  what  is  grand,  heroic,  and  worthy  of  the 
name  I  bear.  But  that  I  should  marry  like  a  young  lady  of 
romance,  that  he  should  come  to  seek  me  upon  a  palfrey  de- 
stroying all  barriers  in  the  road;  and  on  the  other  hand  that 
I  should  mount  another  palfrey  like  Mine.  Oriane1;  I  assure 
you  this  would  not  suit  my  temper,  and  I  am  very  indignant 
against  those  people  who  have  thought  it  possible. 

At  this  point  the  Princess  was  silent.  It  would 
have  been  the  moment  to  confess  the  true  key  to 
her  conduct ;  but  one  must  avow  that,  in  spite  of 
her  fine  words  and  her  expressed  contempt  for 
lovers,  she  was  after  all  a  true  Princess  of  romance, 
led  by  her  imagination. 

The  idea  of  making  war  upon  the  King  from  the 
bottom  of  a  cellar  had  amused  her,  and  still  more 
the  thinking  of  herself  as  the  price  of  peace  between 
her  cousin  and  Conde,  and  she  had  not  wished  to 
look  further. 

While  the  tempest  gathered  over  her  head,  the 
great  preoccupation  of  Mademoiselle  was  the  in- 
stallation of  a  theatre  in  her  dilapidated  chateau, 
in  which  the  country  workmen  had  not  yet  suc- 
ceeded in  arranging  a  suitable  bedroom  for  her. 
She  could  no  longer  live  without  the  comedy ; 
the  theatre  must  come  first.  It  was  ready  in 

1  Oriane  was  the  mistress  of  Amadis. 


1 8  Louis  XIV.  and 

February,  1653,  and  inaugurated  immediately  by  a 
wandering  troop,  engaged  for  the  season.  The 
hall  was  commodious,  but  very  cold.  The  court 
of  Saint-Fargeau  descended  from  its  garrets  en- 
tirely muffled,  the  ladies  in  fur  hoods.  The  country 
people,  only  too  delighted  to  be  invited  to  shiver  in 
such  good  company,  hastened  from  distances  of  ten 
leagues.  Mademoiselle  was  perfectly  contented  : 
"  I  listened  to  the  play  with  more  pleasure  than 
ever  before." 

We  no  longer  understand  what  it  means  to  love 
truly  the  theatre.  According  to  the  gazette  of 
Loret,  the  opening  piece  was  a  pastoral,  "  half  gay, 
half  moral."  Mademoiselle  loved  this  sort,  slightly 
out  of  fashion  ;  Segrais  has  preserved  an  agreeable 
reminiscence  of  a  summer's  evening  passed  in 
the  forest,  with  the  natural  background  of  high 
trees,  listening  to  an  ancient  "  Amaryllis  "  repolished 
and  arranged  for  the  stage  by  some  penny-a-liner. 

Mademoiselle  loved,  what  is  more,  everything 
pertaining  to  the  theatre  from  tragedy  to  trained 
dogs.  One  reads  in  a  little  squib  written  by  her 
as  a  pastime,1  and  printed  for  the  diversion  of  her 
friends,  "  Comedians  are  essentials — at  least  for  the 
French  and  Italians.  Jugglers,  rope  dancers,  buveurs 
d'eau,  without  forgetting  marionettes  and  bell 
players,  dogs  trained  to  leap,  and  monkeys  as  ex- 
amples to  our  own ;  violins  and  merry-andrews 
and  good  dancers."  This  skit  should  not  be  taken 

1  La  relation  de  risle  imaginaire,  printed  in  1659,  a^so  L'histoire  de  la 
Princesse  de  Paphlagonie.     We  shall  again  refer  to  them. 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  19 

too  seriously,  but  it  well  accords  with  the  account 
left  us  by  an  eye-witness  of  one  of  the  represent- 
ations at  Saint-Fargeau.  The  piece  was  called 
Country  Pleasures,  an  operetta.  The  greatest 
applause  fell  neither  to  the  Goddess  Flora,  nor  to 
the  "  melancholy  lover,"  but  to  two  children  dis- 
guised as  monkeys,  and  executing  songs  with  the 
"cadence  which  belongs  to  those  animals." 

Twice  a  week,  the  pleasures  and  cares  of  Saint- 
Fargeau  were  varied  by  the  arrival  of  messengers 
bringing  letters  and  gazettes.  News  not  to  be 
trusted  to  the  post  was  received  through  guests 
from  Paris  or  by  special  messengers.  The  news 
consisted  mainly  of  political  events,  but  it  fell  to 
the  exiles  to  discover  the  springs  and  to  draw  the 
morals  from  the  facts.  This  talent  of  divining, 
possessed  in  a  high  degree  by  the  Parisians,  has 
never  passed  the  banlieue.  It  cannot  be  carried 
away. 

Mademoiselle  herself  had  never  attained  the  art. 
Even  at  the  Tuileries  she  used  to  say :  "  I  can 
never  guess  anything."  Once  in  her  place  of 
refuge,  she  comprehended  nothing  of  the  real  sig- 
nificance of  passing  events.  For  those  who  were  not 
Provincials  there  was  nothing  clearer  than  the  con- 
duct of  the  Court  of  France,  after  its  return  to  the 
capital.  Mademoiselle  had  fled  from  the  Tuileries 
October  21,  1652.  The  next  day  the  young  King 
held  a  Lit  de  Justice,  in  which  the  Parliament 
was  forbidden  to  occupy  itself  with  the  general 
affairs  of  the  kingdom.  Banishments  and  pursuits 


20  Louis  XIV.  and 

immediately  commenced,  but  the  gazettes  hardly  re- 
ferred to  them.  From  their  pages  one  might  have 
gathered  that  Paris  was  entirely  absorbed  in  its 
pleasures. 

The  post  of  November  brought  to  Saint-Fargeau 
description  of  the  first  Court  ball  and  some  lines  on 
a  new  Lit  de  Justice  (November  I3th),  in  which 
the  Prince  de  Conde  and  his  adherents  had  been 
declared  criminals  "  de  lese  majeste."  The  Decem- 
ber number  of  the  Gazette  gave  news  of  the  arrest  of 
Retz,  who  had  rallied  before  the  end  of  the  Fronde, 
and  the  account  of  a  great  marriage  with  enumera- 
tion of  gifts  and  names  of  donors,  exactly  as  in  our 
modern  journals.  The  January  number  was  made 
interesting  by  the  accounts  of  the  several  successes 
of  Turenne  over  Conde  and  the  Spanish  troops, 
and  by  the  news  of  the  death  of  an  ancient  aunt 
of  Mademoiselle  who  had  been  in  retreat  for  seven 
or  eight  years.  The  necrological  article  took  a 
larger  space  in  the  gazette  of  Loret  than  that  ab- 
sorbed by  the  warlike  and  political  news  together. 

The  third  of  the  following  month  the  revolution- 
ary era  was  closed  by  the  triumphal  return  of  Maz- 
arin.  Louis  XIV.  travelled  three  leagues  to  meet 
him, 

Encor  qitil  fait  un  temps  e'trange 
Temps  de  vent,  de  pluie  et  de  fange, 

and  took  him  back  in  his  own  carriage  to  the 
Louvre,  where  a  sumptuous  festival,  fireworks,  and 
homage,  more  or  less  sincere,  from  the  crowds  of 
courtiers,  awaited  him. 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  21 

The  attention  of  the  Parisians  was  at  once  di- 
rected to  a  grand  ballet  with  mechanical  devices 
and  changes  of  scene,  danced  three  times  by  the 
King  and  the  flower  of  his  nobility, l  before  a  public 
analogous  to  that  of  the  free  representations  of 
July  1 4th  in  Paris.  Places  were  reserved  for  the 
Court  and  its  guests,  who  really  made  part  of  the 
spectacle,  but  otherwise  all  entered  who  desired. 
The  crowd  besieged  the  doors  to  see  what  will 
probably  never  again  be  witnessed :  a  monarch 
sufficiently  sure  of  his  prestige  to  dare  to  pirouet, 
costumed  as  a  mythological  divinity,  or  stagger 
as  a  thief  who  had  drunk  too  much,  before  the 
canaille  of  his  capital. 

The  following  day,  a  journalist  bitterly  bewails 
in  his  paper  having  seen  nothing  at  all,  although 
he  had  stood  in  line  three  hours  and  waited  eight 
hours  in  the  hall.  This  journalist  exacted  and 
obtained  consideration  ;  at  the  second  representa- 
tion, the  chronicler  before  carelessly  treated  was 
lead  in  ceremony  to  the  "  reserved  places."  He 
was  not  yet  content,  not  being  in  front.  He 
showed  himself,  however,  a  good  fellow  and  wrote 
an  article  admiring  all,  even  a  scene  in  which  the 
joke  to-day  seems  somewhat  inhuman.  It  was  a 
dance  of  cripples,  the  contortions  of  these  miserable 
beings  causing  much  laughter. 

Of  the  abuses  which  gave  rise  to  the  Fronde,  no 
living  soul  breathed  a  word.  Not  one  of  these 

1  These  representations  took  place  in  the  grand  hall  of  the  Petit  Bourbon, 
near  the  Louvre.  (Cf.  L! Histoire  de  Paris,  by  Delaure.) 


22  Louis  XIV.  and 

abuses  had  disappeared.  For  the  most  part  they 
had  been  aggravated  by  the  general  disorder ;  but 
France  resembled  an  invalid  who  had  so  far  found 
only  charlatans  for  physicians ;  it  was  weary  of 
remedies.  "  The  people  of  Paris,"  wrote  Andre 
d'Ormesson,  "were  disgusted  with  Princes  and  did 
not  longer  wish  to  feed  upon  war." 

One  might  say  the  same  of  the  Provinces.  They 
remained  for  the  most  part  troubled  and  miserable, 
their  hate  now  turning  against  the  nobility,  with 
whom  the  four  years  of  anarchy  had  brought  back 
the  manners  of  the  feudal  brigands.  Deceived  on 
all  sides,  betrayed  by  all  its  pretended  saviours,  the 
country  began  again  to  put  its  faith  in  the  central 
power.  It  was  only  necessary  that  this  last  should 
regain  its  strength  day  by  day,  and  it  was  clear  to 
the  Parisians  as  well  as  to  the  Provinces  that  the 
first  use  royalty  would  make  of  convalescence  would 
be  to  cripple  the  nobility  so  that  a  revival  of  the 
Fronde  would  be  impossible. 

The  period  had  passed  in  which  the  King  could 
be  aided  by  the  nobles  according  to  their  own 
methods  not  his,  as  at  the  time  in  which  they  had 
fought  against  him,  to  deliver  him  from  his  first 
minister.  Louis  XIV.  wished  now  to  be  served  in 
his  own  way,  which  was  to  be  obeyed,  and  he  felt 
the  strength  to  impose  obedience.  It  required  all 
the  naivete  of  Mademoiselle  to  be  able  to  imagine 
that  she  could  make  the  King  as  an  old  Frondeur 
admit  the  distinctions  between  M.  le  Prince  whose 
success  one  had  the  right  to  desire,  and  the  Spanish 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  23 

soldiers  led  by  this  same  Prince  in  whom  one  must 
not  be  interested.  She  had  so  little  realisation  of 
the  change  which  had  taken  place  in  sentiments, 
from  the  date  of  her  exile,  that  she  did  not  even 
attempt  to  conceal  her  grief  at  the  news  of  the 
victory  at  Arras  brought  back  by  Turenne,  August 
27,  1654. 

The  Grande  Mademoiselle  believed  herself  in 
accord  with  her  King  and  country  when  she  wrote 
in  her  Mhnoires :  "  I  have  not  desired  the  Spaniards 
to  gain  advantage  over  the  French,  but  I  do  wish 
that  M.  le  Prince  might  do  so  and  I  cannot  per- 
suade myself  that  this  is  against  the  service  of  the 
King."  It  was  then  four  months  since  the  young 
monarch  had  entered,  whip  in  hand,  into  his  Parlia- 
ment and  forbade  it  to  mix  itself  with  his  affairs ; 
but  his  cousin  had  no  more  comprehended  this 
warning  than  the  others  which  had  preceded  it. 
It  had  not  once  occurred  to  her  that  the  cadet 
branches  of  the  royal  family  were  amongst  the  van- 
quished and  that  the  relations  of  the  King  of 
France,  very  far  from  being  in  a  position  to  dictate 
to  him,  would  henceforth  be  the  most  strictly  held 
in  leash  of  all  his  subjects.  Only  the  approach  of 
the  great  revolution  gave  them  an  opportunity  to 
regain  their  importance  and  we  know  how  much 
Louis  XVI.  and  Marie  Antoinette  were  able  to 
congratulate  themselves  over  this  fact. 

Monsieur  Gaston  undertook  to  bring  his  daugh- 
ter to  a  realisation  of  the  truth.  It  had  been  said 
that  as  long  as  he  lived  bitter  experiences  would 


24  Louis  XIV.  and 

come  to  Mademoiselle  through  this  dangerous 
Prince. 

Gaston  d'Orleans  had  disappeared  from  the 
stage  at  the  end  of  the  Fronde,  like  a  true  hero 
of  comedy.  His  wife  said,  half  weeping,  half 
laughing,  that  he  seemed  to  her  a  Tewlin,  a  cele- 
brated comic  actor  who  filled  the  role  designated 
to-day  as  the  "  king  of  operetta." 

The  return  of  the  Court  to  Paris  had  been  an- 
nounced to  the  Luxembourg  by  a  letter  from  Louis 
XIV.  This  news  had  entirely  upset  Monsieur  and 
he  blustered  with  so  much  appearance  of  truth 
that  Mademoiselle  had  once  more  been  convinced. 
"  He  was  so  completely  beside  himself,"  relates  de 
Retz,  "  that  one  would  judge  from  his  manner  of 
speaking,  that  he  was  already  on  horseback,  com- 
pletely armed  and  ready  to  cover  with  blood  the 
plains  of  St.  Denis  and  Crenelle." 

Madame  was  terrified ;  she  endeavoured  to  pa- 
cify him,  but  the  more  she  tried  the  more  vigor- 
ously he  threatened  to  annihilate  everything.  His 
martial  ardour  vanished  when  he  received  a  decree 
of  banishment  (October  21,  1652).  It  was  at  the 
date  the  King  was  entering  Paris,  and  cannon  were 
heard  on  all  sides,  the  populace,  according  to  the 
custom  of  the  times,  firing  in  the  air  as  a  sign 
of  joy.  Nothing,  however,  could  persuade  Mon- 
sieur, old  Parisian  as  he  was,  that  these  charges  did 
not  come  from  the  King's  guards,  and  that  the 
palace  was  not  being  besieged. 

He  was  overcome  with  terror ;  moved  to  and  fro 


CARDINAL  DE  RETZ 

Showing  him  in  his  Coadjuteur  days 

After  the  painting  by  Deveria 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  25 

with  agitation  ;  sent  constantly  to  inquire  what  was 
going  on,  and  finally  hastened  his  departure,  which 
should  not  have  taken  place  till  the  next  day  be- 
fore dawn.  He  drew  a  free  breath  only  upon 
arriving  at  the  valley  of  Chevreuse.  No  one 
dreamed  of  retaining  him — on  the  contrary,  Maz- 
arin,  who  governed  France  from  the  depths  of  his 
exile,  was  resolved  to  have  no  more  trouble  with 
him.  "  Let  his  Royal  Highness  depart  with  his 
appanage,"1  wrote  he.  His  Royal  Highness  hav- 
ing arrived  at  the  Chateau  of  Limours,  Michel 
Le  Tellier,  Secretary  of  State  and  War,  hastened 
to  find  him,  and  it  was  a  repetition  of  the  former 
scenes  with  Richelieu. 

In  his  final  adieus  to  public  life,  Gaston  d'Or- 
leans  denounced  Retz  as  before  he  had  denounced 
Chalais,  Montmorency,  Cinq-Mars,  and  many 
others.  When  he  had  said  all  that  he  wished, 
thus  preparing  the  arrest  of  the  Cardinal,  who  was 
to  astonish  Mademoiselle  by  arriving  at  Saint- 
Fargeau,  the  King  permitted  him  to  retire  to 
Blois."2  Monsieur  obeyed  with  ill-grace;  he  felt 
that  they  were  burying  him  alive. 

This  was  not  the  first  time  that  he  had  dwelt  at 
Blois  in  spite  of  himself.  The  forced  sojourn 
made  at  that  place  under  Louis  XIII.  had  not 
been  disagreeable,  constraint  aside,  because  he  was 
not  definitely  limited,  and  he  succeeded,  being 
young  and  gay,  in  living  like  "  a  little  king  of 

1  Letter  of  October  I2th,  to  the  Abbe  Foucquet. 

2  MJmoires  de  Montglat. 


26  Louis  XIV.  and 

Yvetot."  He  had  rebuilt  according  to  his  own 
taste  (1635-1638)  a  portion  of  the  chateau  after 
the  plans  of  Fran£ois  Mansard,  "  the  cleverest 
architect  of  his  times,"  *  the  uncle  of  the  builder  of 
the  Palace  of  Versailles. 

Chambord  served  him  for  a  country-seat,  near 
at  hand,  and  fruitful  for  the  kitchen  garden,  with 
forests  teeming  with  game  for  hunting-grounds, 
and  amiable  people  for  subjects,  who  had  guarded 
a  monarchical  faith  and  considered  themselves 
much  honoured  when  the  brother  of  the  King 
deigned  to  flatter  them  and  their  daughters. 

Saint-Fargeau  was  steep  and  gloomy ;  Blois,  on 
the  contrary,  with  its  sky  full  of  caresses,  showed 
itself  the  worthy  forerunner  of  the  Angevine  gen- 
tleness : 

Coteaux  riants  y  sont  des  deux  cote's, 
Coteaux  non  pas  si  voisins  de  la  nue, 
Qu'en  Limousin,  mais  coteaux  enchante"s, 
Belles  maisons,  beaux  pares  et  bien  planted, 
Pres  verdoyants  done  ce  pays  abonde, 
Vignes  et  bois,  tant  de  diversity's. 
Qu'en  croit  d'  abord  etre  en  un  autre  monde.9 

It  is  a  tourist  of  the  time  who  so  speaks,  La 
Fontaine,  who  visited  Blois  in  1663,  and  described 
it  to  his  wife  in  a  letter  half  prose,  half  verse. 
The  city  had  charmed  him  on  account  of  its  beau- 
tiful situation  and  the  amiable  manners  of  its  in- 

1  Mttmoires  du  Marquis  de  Sourches.    Cf.  L'Histoire  du  ch&teau  de  Blois, 
by  La  Saussaye. 

2  Letter  of  September  3,  1663. 


JULIUS  HARDOUIN  MANSART 
After  the  painting  by  Vivien 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  27 

habitants :  "  Life  is  very  polished  here,  possibly 
has  always  been  so,  the  climate  and  the  beauty  of 
the  country  contributing  to  its  charm  ;  probably 
the  sojourn  of  Monsieur  or  the  number  of  pretty 
women  has  caused  this  politeness." 

As  a  man  of  taste,  La  Fontaine  had  admired  the 
portion  of  the  chateau  of  Francis  I.,  without  regu- 
larity and  order  ;  as  a  good  liver  he  had  appre- 
ciated the  excellent  breakfast  at  the  inn.  As  a 
good  traveller,  he  had  gossiped  sufficiently  with 
the  people  of  the  place  to  realise  how  happy  they 
were  under  the  gentle  reign  of  Gaston. 

The  traces  of  the  civil  wars  had  been  quickly 
effaced  in  these  fertile  and  populous  provinces. 
La  Fontaine  gaily  retook  his  route  towards  Am- 
boise  ;  he  saw  the  smile  of  France,  and  he  was 
made  to  enjoy  it. 

In  this  first  time  of  peaceful  enjoyment  one 
of  the  great  pleasures  of  Monsieur  was  to  pass 
through  his  domains  as  an  idle  prince  ;  descending 
here  from  his  carnage  to  chase  a  stag,  stopping 
there  his  boat  to  dine  upon  the  grass,  inviting  him- 
self into  any  dwellings  belonging  to  either  nobles 
or  bourgeoisie  in  which  he  found  pretty  women. 

He  embarked  one  day  on  one  of  those  covered 
boats  which  the  pictures  of  the  seventeenth  century 
show  us.  They  were  called  "  galiotes,"  and  were 
used  in  voyaging  upon  rivers  and  canals.  "  Mon- 
sieur," relates  an  eye-witness,  "  had  commanded 
a  second  boat  in  which  he  put  a  quantity  of  pro- 
visions, and  the  officers  of  his  manage,  those  of  the 


28  Louis  XIV.  and 

kitchen  as  well  as  the  wardrobe  ;  the  horses  were 
led  along  the  bank." 

He  took  ten  or  twelve  of  his  suite  with  himself, 
and  when  he  reached  some  beautiful  and  agreeable 
island  he  disembarked  and  ordered  dinner  and 
supper  to  be  served  under  the  shade. 

"  Certainly  one  might  say  that  all  cares  were 
banished  from  our  society,  that  life  went  on  with- 
out restraint,  playing,  drinking,  eating,  sleeping  at 
will,  that  time  meant  nothing ;  at  last  the  master, 
although  son  and  brother  of  great  kings,  had  put 
himself  in  the  rank  of  his  servants."1 

Thus  they  drifted  down  the  stream  as  far  as 
Brittany.  The  weather  was  perfect.  The  cha- 
teaux of  the  Loire  defiled  before  the  galiote. 
These  people  travelled  as  if  they  were  poets. 

As  soon,  however,  as  Richelieu  permitted,  Gaston 
rushed  to  Paris  and  again  plunged  into  politics ; 
which  meant  to  him  only  cowardice  and  betrayals, 
but  which  nevertheless  fascinated  him.  This  was 
his  favourite  vice  which  nothing  would  have  in- 
duced him  to  correct,  for  politics  gave  him  a  round 
of  new  sensations.  To  hold  the  life  of  a  friend  in 
one's  hand,  knowing  in  advance  that  he  will  be 
delivered  to  the  executioner,  and  at  the  same  time 
bitterly  to  bewail  his  loss ;  to  realise  also  that 
the  present  grief  will  surely  vanish  and  that  one 
can  joyously  take  another  life  in  the  hand, — 
such  events  evidently  make  days  most  interesting, 
when  neither  conscience  nor  heart  are  tender. 

1  Nicolas  Goulas,  Memoires. 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  29 

These  excitements  had  filled  the  public  career  of 
Gaston,  and  when  he  found  himself  again  in  his 
chateau  of  Blois,  almost  twenty  years  after  the 
radiant  voyage  down  the  Loire,  for  ever  deprived, 
according  to  all  probabilities,  of  the  strong  emo- 
tions whose  savour  Le  Tellier  had  permitted  him  to 
taste  for  the  last  time  in  the  interview  at  Limours, 
existence  appeared  to  him  intolerably  pale  and 
empty. 

The  good  which  he  could  do  and  actually  was  do- 
ing, did  not  interest  him  ;  he  bitterly  regretted  the 
evil  no  longer  in  his  power. 

No  one,  even  amongst  his  enemies,  has  ever 
accused  him  of  being  wicked.  Only  physicians 
can  analyse  such  morbid  natures.  Monsieur  had 
commenced  by  struggling  against  ennui.  He  had 
collected  a  fine  library  and  had  attracted  literary 
people  to  his  court,  in  the  hopes  of  refinding  the 
taste  for  literature  which  had  animated  his  youth. 
He  recalled  his  collections  of  objects  of  art  and 
curiosities,  continued  them  and  began  new.  No- 
thing, however,  really  interested  him,  except  a  bo- 
tanical garden  with  which  he  occupied  himself  with 
pleasure. 

Everything  seemed  infinitely  puerile  to  a  man 
who  had  contributed  so  long  to  the  making  of 
history  ;  it  had  become  impossible  for  him  to  at- 
tach any  importance  to  the  little  verses  of  his 
"  beaux  esprits,"  or  to  become  impassioned  over  im- 
paled birds  or  even  an  antique  medal. 

Weary  of  war,  he  threw  himself  into  devotion 


30  Louis  XIV.  and 

The  gazette  of  Loret  made  this  fact  part  of  the 
official  news  of  France  and  kept  the  country  in- 
formed of  his  progress  in  the  path  of  piety.  The 
first  sign  which  he  gave  of  his  conversion  was 
to  correct  himself  of  a  fault  which  had  formerly 
brought  from  Richelieu  useless  remonstrances. 
This  Prince  with  so  refined  a  taste,  cursed  and 
swore  abominably.  The  habit  had  been  caught 
by  those  near  him  ;  we  know  that  Mademoiselle 
herself  used  lively  words  in  moments  of  irritation. 
In  December,  1652,  oaths  and  blasphemies  were 
severely  forbidden  at  the  court  of  Blois,  and  Mon- 
sieur insisted  upon  obedience. 
To-day,  reports  the  gazette  1 : 

Aucun  de  ceux  qui  sont  a  lui, 
Quelque  malheur  qui  lui  survienne, 
N'oserait  jurer  la  mordienne. 

One  learns,  afterwards,  that  these  fine  begin- 
nings were  not  belied,  and  that  Monsieur  was  now 
"  less  often  at  home  than  in  the  church."  The 
Parisians  and  the  Court  of  France  had  much  diffi- 
culty in  believing  that  repentance  should  have 
come  to  a  spirit  so  free  and  so  skeptical.  His  piety 
would  have  been  entirely  estimable  "  if  his  laziness 
had  not  in  some  portion  aided  his  virtue."  But  how- 
ever this  may  be,  the  devotion  of  Gaston  was  not 
the  less  sincere.  He  reformed  his  life,  and  succeeded 
in  finding,  at  the  foot  of  the  altar,  not  perhaps  con- 
tentment, but  some  patience  and  resignation. 

1  Gazette  of  August  22,  1654. 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  31 

This  did  not  come,  however,  for  a  long  time  ;  the 
beginning1  of  his  definite  exile  was  filled  with  miser- 
able agitations  and  complaints  without  dignity. 
Madame  rejoined  him  with  their  little  flock  of 
daughters.1  This  Princess  did  not  add  to  the  an- 
imation of  the  chateau.  Entirely  occupied  with  her 
own  health,  she  lived  shut  up,  without  any  other 
distraction  than  that  of  eating  from  morning  till 
night,  "  in  order  to  cure  her  melancholies,"  relates 
the  Grande  Mademoiselle,  "  but  which  really  in- 
creases her  ills."  She  gave  no  orders,  only  sent  for 
her  daughters  ten  minutes  in  the  morning  and  even- 
ing, never  spoke  to  them  except  to  say  "  Hold  your- 
selves erect,  raise  your  head "  ;  this  was  her  sole 
instruction.  She  never  saw  them  again  during  the 
day  and  never  inquired  what  they  were  doing. 

The  governess  in  her  turn  neglected  her  pupils, 
who  were  abandoned  to  the  care  of  inferiors.  Their 
father  found  nothing  to  criticise  in  these  educa- 
tional methods  ;  Anne  of  Austria  had  not  brought 
up  her  sons  very  differently.  Besides,  Monsieur 
was  a  submissive  husband.  He  considered  his 
wife's  judgment  good,  and  that  she  possessed  much 
more  intelligence  than  was  indicated  by  her  large, 
frightened  eyes. 

"  This  one,"  said  Tallemant,  "  is  a  poor  idiot, 
who  nevertheless  has  intelligence."  Mme.  de  Motte- 
ville  judged  her  exactly  the  same.  Madame  was 
not  loved  because  she  was  not  amiable,  but  no  one 
was  astonished  at  her  ascendancy  over  her  husband. 

1  Four,  but  the  last  died  at  an  early  age. 


32  Louis  XIV.  and 

Gaston's  court,  contrary  to  that  of  his  daughter, 
was  almost  deserted.  Disgrace  for  this  couple  had 
been  the  signal  for  general  abandonment.  During 
the  first  years,  Gaston  took  the  trouble  to  entertain 
his  guests ;  he  became  again,  for  some  hours,  the 
incomparable  talker,  who  knew  a  thousand  beauti- 
ful tales  and  found  charming  methods  of  telling 
them.1  Chapelle  and  Bachaumont  were  received  at 
the  chateau  on  their  passage  to  Blois  in  1656,  and 
brought  back  the  pleasantest  remembrances  of  the 
dinners  of  the  Due  d'Orleans. 

La  d'une  obligeante  maniere, 
D'un  visage  ouvert  et  riant, 
II  nous  fit  bonne  et  grande  chere, 
Nous  donnant  a  son  ordinaire 
Tout  ce  que  Blois  a  de  friand. 

"  The  table  arrangements  were  the  neatest  possi- 
ble, not  even  a  crumb  of  bread  was  allowed  on  the 
table.  Well  polished  glasses  of  all  sorts  stood 
upon  the  buffet,  and  ice  was  abundant.  The  hall 
was  prepared  for  the  evening  dance,  all  the  beauties 
of  the  neighbouring  cities  invited,  all  the  violins 
from  the  provinces  collected." 2  After  a  short  time, 
however,  the  effort  of  entertaining  became  a  bur- 
den upon  Monsieur.  He  cared  for  nothing  but  re- 
pose, and  he  would  have  passed  the  remainder  of 
his  days  in  sleeping  with  open  eyes,  if  it  had  not 
been  for  his  daughter  of  Saint-Fargeau,  the  terrible 

1  Me'moires  de  Bussy-Rabutin. 

8  Voyage  de  Chapelle  et  de  Bachaumont. 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  33 

Mademoiselle,  from  whom  he  had  separated  at 
Paris  after  a  painful  explanation,  and  who  had 
never  left  him  in  peace  since  that  time. 

She  had  commenced  by  coming  to  seek  him  in 
spite  of  frequent  commands,  to  which  she  paid  not 
the  least  attention.  The  Grande  Mademoiselle, 
openly  allied  to  Conde,  was  a  compromising  guest 
for  a  Prince  possessed  at  this  epoch  with  the  desire 
to  retake  his  place  near  the  throne.  In  vain  she 
declared  that  she  had  recalled  her  troops  from  the 
army  of  the  Prince,  her  father  knew  very  well  that 
she  was  mocking  him,  and  received  her  coldly  on 
the  evening  of  her  first  arrival  (December,  1652). 
"  He  came  to  meet  me  at  the  door  of  his  room,  and 
said,  *  I  do  not  dare  to  come  out  because  I  have  a 
swollen  cheek.' "  A  moment  after  Monsieur  heard 
from  afar  a  joyous  voice  ;  it  was  Mademoiselle  re- 
lating the  adventures  during  her  flight  to  Saint- 
Fargeau.  Monsieur  could  hold  out  no  longer.  He 
approached,  made  her  recommence,  and  laughed 
with  the  others.  The  ice  was  broken.  The  fourth 
day,  however,  he  said  to  Prefontaine,  the  man  of 
confidence  of  Mademoiselle,  while  walking  in  the 
park  of  Chambord,  "  I  love  my  daughter  very 
much,  but  I  have  many  obligations,  and  shall  be 
easier  if  she  stays  here  but  little." 

Mademoiselle  departed  the  next  day.  The  fol- 
lowing month  (January,  1653),  Monsieur  and 
Madame  made  a  sojourn  at  Orleans.  In  spite  of 
new  orders,  Mademoiselle  came  to  pass  a  day  with 
them.  "  I  did  not  wait  for  escort,"  wrote  she,  "  I 


3 


34  Louis  XIV.  and 

departed  suddenly  from  Saint-Fargeau  and  went  to 
Orleans." 

This  determination  to  impose  herself  upon  people 
whom  she  saw  with  but  little  pleasure,  is  difficult  to 
explain.  Monsieur  and  Madame,  who  feared  her, 
welcomed  her,  and  her  father  said  in  bidding  her 
farewell,  "  The  affairs  of  your  minority  have  never 
been  settled.  I  wish  to  close  this  business.  Give 
orders  for  this  to  your  people." 

Mademoiselle  did  not  wait  for  a  second  request. 
"  In  consequence  I  wrote  to  Paris,  then  to  Blois,  a 
host  of  writings  which  were  somewhat  wearisome." 
Monsieur  had  his  own  projects.  It  was  the  single 
opportunity  to  extract  a  little  money  for  the 
daughters  by  his  second  wife. 

These  young  princesses  had  nothing  to  expect 
from  their  own  mother,  and  very  little  from  their 
father,  whose  pensions  and  appointments  were  de- 
stined to  disappear  with  him.  Madame  was  pre- 
occupied with  this  situation. 

For  a  long  time  [reports  one  of  their  intimates]  * 
Madame  has  skilfully  urged  Monsieur  to  think  of  his  affairs, 
and  to  put  some  solid  property  aside  for  her  children,  tell- 
ing him  that  he  possessed  nothing  in  the  world  not  reversi- 
ble to  the  crown  in  case  he  had  no  male  children,  and  that 
their  daughters  would  be  left  to  the  mercy  of  the  court  and 
the  ministers  for  their  subsistence. 

Until  Gaston's  disgrace,  Madame  had  obtained 
nothing,  and  for  cause.  Her  husband  ruined  him- 
self at  play  ;  he  had  been  seen  to  lose  a  half-million 

1  MJmoires  de  Nicolas  Goulas. 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  35 

francs  to  the  famous  Chevalier  de  Gramont.  He 
reformed  only  at  Blois,  too  late  to  begin  to  save  ; 
his  debts  crushed  him,  and  his  pensions  were  paid 
most  irregularly.  The  fortune  of  Mademoiselle 
presented  itself  as  the  sole  means  of  floating  the 
House  of  Orleans,  and  the  accounts  of  her  minority 
were  the  troubled  waters  in  which  it  was  proposed 
to  fish.  Monsieur  did  not  suspect  how  much  the 
exile  and  the  influence  of  Prefontaine  had  changed 
his  daughter. 

The  Prefontaine  type  has  disappeared  with  the 
ancient  regime.  There  is  no  place  in  our  demo- 
cratic society  for  these  men  at  once  servants  and 
friends  ;  friends  however  who  remained  in  the  back- 
ground. Persons  of  this  kind  were  frequently  met 
with  in  the  great  families  of  former  times,  and 
nothing  appeared  more  natural  than  the  dog-like 
devotion  to  their  masters,  always  exacting  and 
often  ungrateful.  The  Grande  Mademoiselle  was 
not  ungrateful  but  she  was  violent,  and  it  was 
always  upon  the  patient  Prefontaine  that  she  vented 
her  anger.  He  was  the  counsellor,  the  factotum 
shrewd  and  firm,  to  whom  all  affairs  came,  the 
confidant  who  knew  her  most  secret  projects  of 
marriage  without  ceasing  to  be  the  domestic  of 
no  account. 

His  mistress  could  do  nothing  without  him,  and 
she  does  not  even  tell  us — she  who  loses  herself  in 
the  smallest  details  when  they  concerned  people  of 
quality  in  her  suite — at  what  date  this  precious  man 
entered  her  service.  She  mentions  him  for  the 


36  Louis  XIV.  and 

first  time  in  1651,  without  saying  who  he  is  or 
where  he  comes  from.  From  that  date  she  never 
ceased  to  speak  of  him  as  long  as  the  troubled  times 
lasted,  but  left  him  in  the  shadow  nevertheless  in 
her  Mdmoires.  When  we  have  said  that  he  was  a 
gentleman,  that  there  was  no  reason  for  his  devo- 
tion to  Mademoiselle  but  his  own  choice,  we  have 
told  all  we  know  about  him.  He  had  found  the 
affairs  of  his  mistress  in  a  very  bad  condition,  and 
so  he  warned  her ;  Monsieur,  her  father,  had  been 
a  negligent  guardian  and  what  is  more  an  untrust- 
worthy one.  At  first  Mademoiselle  would  not 
listen  to  Prefontaine.  It  was  at  Paris  in  the  midst 
of  the  fire  of  the  Fronde,  and  she  had  other  things 
to  think  of. 

Prefontaine  returned  to  the  charge  at  Saint- 
Fargeau,  where  time  abounded,  and  was  better 
received.  A  new  sentiment  had  awakened  in 
Mademoiselle.  She  commenced  to  love  money. 
She  took  interest  in  her  affairs,  and  skilfully  ap- 
plied herself  to  economising  with  so  much  success 
that  she  would  have  soon  risen  to  be  a  Countess 
Pimbesche. 

Ideas  of  order  and  economy,  rarely  found  with 
princesses  of  this  epoch,  occurred  to  her.  "  It  is 
not  sufficient,"  said  she  one  day  to  Prefontaine, 
"  to  have  an  eye  upon  my  legal  affairs  and  the  in- 
crease of  my  revenues ;  but  it  is  also  necessary  to 
supervise  the  expenses  of  my  house.  I  am  con- 
vinced that  I  am  robbed,  and  to  prevent  this,  I  wish 
to  be  accounted  to  as  if  I  were  a  private  person." 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  37 

This  was  not  beneath  a  great  Princess.  Exam- 
ination proved  that  she  was  robbed  by  her  people. 
After  being  assured  of  this,  she  took  upon  herself 
the  duty  of  supervising  all  the  accounts  twice  a 
week,  "even  to  the  smallest." 

She  knew  the  price  of  everything ;  "  who  could 
have  predicted  when  I  lived  at  Court,  that  I  should 
ever  know  how  much  bricks,  lime,  plaster,  car- 
riages cost,  what  are  the  daily  wages  of  the  work- 
men, in  fine  all  the  details  of  a  building,  and  that 
every  Saturday  I  should  myself  settle  the  accounts  : 
every  one  would  have  been  skeptical."  And  still 
more  the  people  at  large ;  it  was  really  almost  in- 
credible. She  quickly  perceived  that  Monsieur 
had  not  taken  his  duties  as  guardian  very  seriously. 
It  was  in  his  belief  both  the  right  and  duty  of  the 
chief  of  the  Orleans  family  to  advance  the  gene- 
ral interests  of  the  House,  even  at  the  expense  of 
individual  members.  The  daughter  by  the  first 
marriage  was  enormously  rich.  What  could  be 
more  just  than  to  use  her  fortune  for  the  common 
good?  What  more  natural  than  to  throw  upon 
her  the  burden  of  debts  contracted  to  add  to  the 
eclat  of  the  family  ?  or  to  give  a  little  of  her 
superfluity  to  her  young  sisters  in  view  of  their 
establishment  ? 

Gaston  sent  to  his  daughter  for  signature  an  act 
conceived  in  this  spirit,  and  received  the  clearest 
refusal.  Very  respectfully  but  with  firmness  Made- 
moiselle assured  him  that  henceforth  she  intended 
to  hold  to  her  legal  rights,  which  guaranteed  the 


38  Louis  XIV.  and 

integrity  of  her  fortune.  Monsieur  threw  himself 
into  a  great  rage,  but  knew  not  what  more  to  do. 
Politics  gave  him  unexpected  aid.  A  gentleman 
sent  as  courier  by  Conde  into  France  had  just 
been  arrested.  Among  other  letters  was  found  one 
without  address,  but  evidently  destined  for  Made- 
moiselle and  most  compromising  for  her. 

Mazarin  charged  the  Archbishop  of  Embrun  to 
take  a  copy  of  this  to  Gaston.  The  dispatch  in 
which  the  prelate  renders  account  of  his  mission 
has  been  preserved.  Here  is  one  of  the  significant 
passages  : 

BLOIS,  March  31,  1653. 
MONSEIGNEUR  .* 

I  arrived  Sunday  evening  in  this  city  where  I  was  received 
most  warmly  by  Monsieur.  .  .  .  Immediately  upon 
arrival  I  had  a  conference  of  an  hour  with  him  alone  in  his 
cabinet.  I  pointed  out  to  him  through  the  letter  addressed  to 
Mademoiselle  her  relations  to  M.  le  Prince,  the  Spaniards,  and 
M.  de  Lorraine,  which  were  all  visibly  marked  in  the  letter. 
He  declared  himself  very  ill  satisfied  with  Mademoiselle,  but 
that  the  Queen  knew  that  they  had  never  been  eight  hours  at 
a  time  together :  and  that  at  this  moment  she  was  trying  to 
cause  trouble  in  demanding  account  of  his  care  of  her  wealth 
when  he  was  guardian,  and  that  it  was  thus  impossible  to  doubt 
his  anger.  I  told  him  that  I  had  orders  to  beseech  his  Royal 
Highness  to  make  two  observations  upon  the  letter  ;  the  first: 
that  Mademoiselle  as  long  as  she  enjoyed  the  free  possession 
of  her  immense  wealth  could  assist  any  party  she  pleased,  and 
that  the  King  in  order  to  check  this  had  resolved  to  place 
administrators  or  a  commission  over  her  property  to  pre- 
serve it  for  her  own  use,  but  without  permitting  its  abuse. 
His  Royal  Highness  should  be  left  the  choice  of  these  com- 
missioners. 

The  second  remark  was,  that  it  was  to  be  feared,  according  to 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  39 

the  news  in  the  letter,  that  if  M.  le  Prince  advanced,  Made- 
moiselle would  join  him,  and  that  the  King  in  this  diffi- 
culty demanded  counsel  of  him  as  the  person  most  interested 
in  the  conduct  of  Mademoiselle.  Gaston  replied:  that  he 
had  ordered  his  daughter  to  join  him  at  Orleans,  Tuesday  of 
Holy  Week;  and  he  would  bring  her  back  to  Blois,  and  keep 
her  near  him. 

I  have  also,  my  Lord,  talked  over  the  same  subjects  with 
Madame  as  with  Monsieur,  knowing  that  she  was  very  intelli- 
gent, and  also  that  Monsieur  deferred  much  to  her  opinions. 

Mazarin  took  no  action  upon  this  communication 
of  the  Archbishop  of  Embrun. 

It  was  sufficient  to  intimate  to  Monsieur  that  he 
was  authorised  not  to  worry  himself  about  a  rebel, 
and  Gaston  on  his  side  asked  nothing  better. 

Sure  of  being  for  the  present  under  Court  pro- 
tection, he  poured  forth  bitter  words  and  threats 
against  this  disobedient  and  heartless  daughter, 
who  forgot  her  duty.  Sometimes  he  wrote  to  her 
that  "if  she  did  not  willingly  give  everything  he 
demanded  he  would  take  possession  of  all  the 
property  and  only  give  her  what  he  pleased." 

Sometimes  he  cast  fire  and  flame  between  her 
and  the  public :  "  She  does  not  love  her  sisters ; 
says  they  are  beggars  ;  that  after  my  death  she  will 
see  them  demand  alms,  without  giving  a  penny. 
She  wishes  to  see  my  children  in  the  poorhouse," 
and  other  sentiments  of  the  same  kind,  which  were 
repeated  at  Saint-Fargeau. 

Mademoiselle  herself  dreamed  one  day  that  Mon- 
sieur thought  of  enclosing  her  in  a  convent,  "that 
this  was  the  intention  of  the  King,"  and  that  she  must 


40  Louis  XIV.  and 

prepare  for  his  coming.  At  the  same  time  she  was 
warned  from  Paris  that  her  father  had  promised 
the  Court  to  arrest  her  as  soon  as  she  arrived  at 
Blois.  Things  reached  such  a  pass  that  Gaston 
could  no  longer  hear  the  name  of  his  daughter 
without  flying  into  a  passion. 

The  Princess  had  at  first  showed  herself  fearless. 
Knowing  that  the  letter  of  Conde  did  not  have  any 
address,  she  denied  that  it  was  meant  for  her  and 
took  a  high  hand  with  her  father ;  "  I  assert  that 
they  cannot  take  away  my  property  unless  I  am 
proved  either  mad  or  criminal  and  I  know  very 
well  that  I  am  neither  one  nor  the  other." 

Reflection,  however,  diminished  her  assurance. 
The  idea  of  "  being  arrested  "  terrified  her,  and  it 
was  this  fate,  in  the  opinion  of  her  ladies,  which 
awaited  her  at  Blois, — for  which  reason  Monsieur, 
having  previously  forbidden  her  to  come,  now 
ordered  her  to  meet  him. 

She  wept  torrents  of  tears ;  she  was  ill  when  she 
was  obliged  to  obey  and  she  confesses  that  on  ar- 
riving at  Blois  she  quite  lost  her  head  from  terror. 
It  was  the  story  of  the  hare  and  the  frogs.  The 
projects  of  Gaston,  whatever  they  may  have  been, 
vanished  at  sight  of  this  agitated  person  and  he  had 
no  other  thought  than  of  calming  his  daughter  and 
avoiding  scenes. 

For  this  he  exerted  all  his  grace,  which  was 
much,  and  forced  Mademoiselle,  reassured  and 
calmed,  to  acknowledge  that  her  father  could  be 
"  charming." 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  41 

The  days  rolled  by  and  the  question  of  their 
differences  was  not  touched  upon.  4<  I  wanted  one 
day  to  speak  to  him  about  my  affairs  and  he  fled 
and  would  pay  no  attention." 

Mademoiselle  felt  the  delights  of  a  country 
covered  with  superb  chateaux  in  which  she  was 
f6ted,  and  amiable  cities  which  fired  cannon  in  her 
honour.  She  made  excursions  during  a  large  part 
of  the  summer  (1653)  and  finally  separated  from 
her  father  most  amicably.  Eight  days  after,  the 
situation  however  was  more  sombre  than  before 
her  departure  for  Blois.  The  demands  of  Monsieur 
had  not  diminished,  his  language  became  still  more 
hard  and  menacing. 

These  differences  lasted  many  years.  Made- 
moiselle lets  it  be  understood  that  it  was  a  ques- 
tion of  considerable  sums.  She  relates  sadly  the 
progress  of  the  ill-will  of  her  father ;  how  painful 
her  sojourn  at  Blois  had  been,  so  that  she  wept 
from  morning  till  night ;  how  without  the  influence 
of  Prefontaine  she  would  have  retired  into  a  Carmel- 
ite convent ;  "  not  to  be  a  religieuse,  God  having 
never  given  me  that  vocation,  but  to  live  away  from 
the  world  for  some  years."  The  ennui  of  the 
cloister  life  would  have  been  compensated  by  the 
thought  that  it  was  an  economical  one.  "  I  should 
save  much  money,"  said  she ;  and  this  thought 
consoled  her.  Once  it  was  believed  that  an  ami- 
cable solution  was  imminent.  The  father  and 
daughter  had  submitted  themselves  to  the  arbitra- 
tion of  the  maternal  grandmother  of  Mademoiselle, 


42  Louis  XIV.  and 

the  old  Mme.  de  Guise,  who  had  made  them  pro- 
mise in  writing  to  sign  "  all  that  she  wished  without 
reading  the  stipulations." 

The  only  result  was  a  more  definite  embroilment. 
Mme.  de  Guise  *  "  was  devoted  to  her  House," 2  that 
ambitious  and  intriguing  House  of  Lorraine  into 
which  she  had  married,  and  with  which  she  was 
again  connected  through  the  second  wife  of  Gaston, 
sister  of  the  Duke  Henri.3  When  Mademoiselle, 
after  "signing  without  reading,"  realised  the  force 
of  the  "  transaction  "  into  which  she  had  been  led 
by  her  grandmother,  she  declared  that  Mme.  de 
Guise  had  despoiled  her  with  shocking  bad  faith,  in 
order  that  her  half-sisters,  the  little  Lorraines, 
should  no  longer  be  menaced  with  the  "  poor- 
house."  The  love  of  family  had  extinguished  with 
Mme.  de  Guise,  as  with  Monsieur,  all  considera- 
tions of  justice  and  sense  of  duty  towards  her  own 
granddaughter.  All  this  happened  at  Orleans  in 
the  month  of  May,  1655.  Mademoiselle,  indignant, 
ran  to  her  grandmother  : 

I  told  her  that  it  was  evident  that  she  loved  the  House  of 
Lorraine  better  than  the  House  of  Bourbon;  that  she  was 
right  in  seeking  to  give  money  to  my  sisters,  that  they  would 
have  little  from  Madame,  and  this  showed  me,  indeed,  to  be 
a  lady  of  great  wealth,  enough  to  provide  for  others,  and  that 

1  Saint-Simon,  Merits  inddits. 

9  Henriette-Catherine,  Duchesse  de  Joyeuse,  first  married  to  Henri  de 
Bourbon,  Due  de  Montpensier,  by  whom  she  had  Marie  de  Bourbon, 
mother  of  Mademoiselle;  married  for  the  second  time  to  Charles  de  Lor- 
raine, Due  de  Guise,  by  whom  she  had  several  children. 

3  Henri  de  Lorraine  reigned  from  1608  to  1624. 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  43 

the  fortune  of  my  family  should  be  established  upon  what 
could  be  seized  from  me;  but  as  I  was  so  much  above  them 
that  they  could  receive  my  benefactions,  it  would  serve  them 
better  to  depend  upon  my  liberality  rather  than  to  attempt  to 
swindle  me;  that  this  would  be  better  before  both  God  and 
man. 

This  scene  lasted  three  hours.  The  same  day 
Monsieur  was  warned  that  Mademoiselle  refused  to 
be  "  duped."  He  gave  a  precipitate  order  for 
departure,  and  declined  to  receive  his  daughter. 
In  the  disorder  that  ensued  Madame  almost  went 
dinnerless  and  appeared  much  disconcerted. 

The  attendants  intervened  to  save  appearances 
at  least,  and  a  formal  leave  was  taken,  but  this 
was  all  ;  the  complete  rupture  was  consummated. 
Upon  the  return  to  Saint-Fargeau,  Mademoiselle 
at  once  learned  that  Monsieur  had  taken  away  her 
men  of  business,  including  the  indispensable  Pre- 
fontaine,  and  had  left  her  without  even  a  secretary. 
This  gives  a  vision  of  the  authority  possessed  by 
the  chief  of  a  family,  and  its  limitations,  with  the 
princely  houses  of  this  epoch.  We  perceive  how 
much  better  the  fortune  of  Mademoiselle  was  de- 
fended against  her  father  than  her  person  and  her 
independence.  Monsieur  did  not  dare  to  take 
away  her  money  without  a  free  and  formal  assent ; 
he  knew  that  if  things  were  not  done  regularly  "  in 
a  hundred  years  the  heirs  of  Mademoiselle  could 
torment  the  children  of  Monsieur."  In  revenge 
for  this  disability  he  tyrannised  over  her  household. 
And  here  he  was  in  his  full  right. 


44  Louis  XIV.  and 

He  could  shut  her  up  in  a  convent  or  in  the 
Chateau  of  Amboise,  as  many  counselled  him  to  do, 
and  this  again  would  be  within  his  legal  powers. 
If  he  did  nothing  of  the  kind,  it  was  only  because, 
being  nervous  and  impressionable,  he  dreaded 
feminine  tears. 

Mademoiselle  realised  that  she  was  at  his  mercy  ; 
it  did  not  occur  to  her  to  contest  the  parental 
authority — outside  of  the  question  of  money.  She 
wept,  "suffered  much,"  but  she  did  not  attempt  to 
save  Prefontaine. 

The  years  which  followed  were  sad  ones  for  her. 
Until  this  time  she  had  had  but  two  days  of  grief  a 
week,  those  upon  which  the  courier  arrived,  on 
account  of  the  business  letters  which  must  be  read 
and  answered.  She  confined  herself  to  her  study 
to  conceal  her  red  eyes,  but  her  correspondence 
once  sent  off,  "  I  only  thought,"  says  she,  "  of 
amusing  myself." 

Conditions  changed  when  she  was  forced  to 
understand  that  Monsieur,  that  father  so  contempt- 
ible, from  whom  she  had  suffered  so  much  since 
her  infancy,  but  so  amiable  that  she  admired  and 
loved  him  notwithstanding,  had  no  kind  of  affection 
for  her.  Very  sensitive,  in  spite  of  her  brusqueness, 
Mademoiselle  experienced  a  profound  grief  at  this 
reflection.  Her  temper  gave  way  in  a  moment  in 
which  the  young  ladies  of  her  suite,  commencing 
to  find  the  exile  long,  and  to  regret  Paris,  were 
ill-disposed  to  patience.  There  was  coldness,  fric- 
tions, and  finally  that  domestic  war,  the  account  of 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  45 

which  fills  a  large  space  in  the  Mtmoires  of  Made- 
moiselle. 

Petty  griefs,  small  intrigues,  and  much  gossip 
rendered  insupportable  to  one  another  persons  con- 
demned to  daily  intercourse.  Affairs  became  so 
strained  between  some  of  the  parties  that  com- 
munication was  impossible,  and  this  state  of 
things  lasted  until  the  most  discontented,  Mmes. 
de  Fiesque  and  de  Frontenac,  had  formed  the  de- 
termination to  return  to  Paris. 

These  quarrels  had  the  effect  of  spoiling  for 
Mademoiselle  Saint-Fargeau,  inclining  her  to  sub- 
mission to  the  Court ;  but  mere  mention  is  suffi- 
cient, and  we  shall  not  again  refer  to  them. 

Mademoiselle  commenced  to  be  convinced  of  the 
imprudence  of  being  at  odds  with  the  Court  and 
her  father  at  the  same  time.  Her  obstinacy  in 
sustaining  Conde  had  ended  by  seriously  vexing 
Mazarin.  The  nobility  felt  this  attitude  and 
showed  less  fondness  for  the  Princess.  In  1655 
she  approached  to  six  leagues  from  Paris.  She 
counted  much  upon  visitors  ;  very  few  appeared. 
"  I  was  responsible  for  so  many  illnesses,"  says  she 
wittily,  "  for  all  those  who  did  not  dare  to  confess 
that  they  feared  to  embroil  themselves  with  the 
Court,  feigned  maladies  or  accidents  in  extraordin- 
ary numbers." 

The  third  day  she  received  an  order  to  "  return." 
This  misadventure  enlightened  her ;  Mademoi- 
selle admitted  the  necessity  of  making  peace  with 
royalty.  Just  at  this  period  the  Prince  de  Conde 


46  Louis  XIV.  and 

grew  less  interesting  to  her,  as  his  chances  of 
becoming  a  widower  diminished.  Mme.  la  Prin- 
cesse  became  gradually  re-established  in  health, 
and  each  of  her  steps  towards  recovery  made 
Mademoiselle  a  little  less  warm  for  M.  le  Prince. 
This  latter  perceived  the,  change,  and  at  once 
altered  his  tone.  "  There  is  no  rupture,"  says  the 
Due  d'Aumale,  "but  one  can  perceive  the  progress 
of  the  coolness  and  its  accordance  with  certain 
news." 

A  letter  from  Conde,  received  after  the  journey 
to  the  environs  of  Paris,  gave  warning  of  the  end 
of  a  friendship  which  on  one  side  at  least  was  en- 
tirely political. 

BRUSSELS,  March  6,  1655. 

.  .  .  As  to  this  change  which  you  declare  to  perceive  in  me, 
you  do  me  much  injustice  and  it  seems  to  me  that  I  have  more 
right  to  reproach  you  than  you  me.  Since  your  long  silence 
the  tone  of  your  letters  plainly  indicates  how  different  your 
present  sentiments  are  from  those  of  past  times.  This  is  not 
true  of  my  own;  they  remain  always  the  same  and  if  you  be- 
lieve otherwise  and  if  you  lend  faith  to  the  rumours  which  my 
enemies  start,  it  is  my  misfortune,  not  crime;  for  I  protest 
there  is  nothing  in  them,  that  affairs  are  not  in  this  state,  and 
if  they  were  I  should  never  listen  to  a  proposition  without 
full  consideration  for  your  interests  and  satisfaction,  also  not 
without  your  consent  and  participation. 

You  will  recognise  the  truth  of  this  statement  through  my 
conduct  and  not  one  of  my  actions  will  ever  give  the  lie  to 
the  words  which  I  now  give  you,  even  if  you  should  have  for- 
gotten all  the  fine  sentiments  you  had  when  you  came  to  see 
our  army,  which  I  can  hardly  consider  possible  for  a  generous 
person  like  you. 

I  knew  that  you  came  to  Lesigny  and  that,  the  Court  disap- 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  47 

proving  of  this,  you  received  orders  to  return,  which  fact  gave 
me  much  displeasure. 

Mademoiselle  did  not  longer  want  a  pretext  for 
withdrawing  her  pin  from  the  game.  The  em- 
broilment with  her  father  furnished  it.  She  im- 
mediately prayed  Conde  to  write  to  her  no  more. 
"It  is  necessary  to  hold  back,"  said  she  to  herself, 
"and  if  I  am  able  without  baseness  to  come  into 
accord  with  the  Cardinal  Mazarin,  I  will  do  it  in 
order  to  withdraw  myself  from  the  persecutions  of 
his  Royal  Highness." 

Some  days  later  the  Comte  de  Bethune  trans- 
mitted to  the  Cardinal  overtures  of  peace  from 
the  Grande  Mademoiselle.  The  Cardinal  desired 
pledges.  She  sent  a  recall  for  the  companies  from 
the  Spanish  army,  upon  which  M.  le  Prince  with- 
out warning  "  held  the  soldiers  and  put  the  officers 
in  prison." 

In  vain  the  indignation  of  Mademoiselle.  "  It 
is  seven  or  eight  years,"  wrote  Conde  to  one  of 
the  agents,  "  since  I  have  really  had  the  favour  of 
Mademoiselle ;  I  formerly  possessed  her  good 
graces,  but  if  she  now  wishes  to  withdraw  them 
I  must  accept,  without  desperation."1  Here  is  a 
man  liberated  rather  than  grieved. 

Thus  failed,  one  after  the  other,  the  menaces 
directed  by  the  Fronde  against  royalty.  The  pro- 
ject of  alliance  between  the  two  cadet  branches 
of  the  House  of  Bourbon  had  been  inspired  in 

1  Letter  of  August  10,  1657,  to  the  Comte  d'Auteuil. 


48  Louis  XIV.  and 

Mademoiselle  by  the  desire  to  marry.  Few  of 
the  ideas  of  all  those  which  menaced  the  throne 
which  had  entered  into  the  brain  of  the  revolu- 
tionary leaders  seemed  so  dangerous  and  caused 
so  much  care  to  Mazarin.  We  must  recollect  that 
he  would  have  been  ready,  in  order  to  appease  the 
cadet  branches,  to  marry  the  little  Louis  XIV.  to 
his  great  cousin. 

Reassured  at  length  by  the  promises  of  Made- 
moiselle, who  engaged  herself  to  have  nothing 
more  to  do  with  M.  le  Prince,  Mazarin  took  the 
trouble  to  overcome  his  wrath  and  permitted  her 
to  expect  the  recompense  for  her  submission. 

In  general,  Mazarin  had  shown  himself  easy  with 
the  repentant  Frondeurs.  The  Prince  de  Conti 
had  been  feted  at  the  Louvre  in  1654.  It  is  true 
that  he  accepted  the  hand  of  a  niece  of  Mazarin  in 
marriage,  Anne  Marie  Martinozzi,  on  conditions 
which  put  him  in  bad  odour  with  the  public.  "  This 
marriage,"  wrote  d'Ormesson,1  "  is  one  of  the  most 
signal  marks  of  the  inconsistency  of  human  affairs 
and  the  fickleness  of  the  French  character  to  be 
seen  in  our  times." 

After  Conti,  another  Prince,  Monsieur,  in  person, 
entirely  submerged  as  he  was  in  laziness  and  devo- 
tions, exerted  himself  sufficiently  to  come  to  Court. 
The  welcome  involved  conditions  which  contained 
nothing  hard  nor  unusual  for  Gaston  d'Orleans  ;  it 

1  Andre  d'Ormesson  died  in  1665,  dean  of  the  Council  of  State.  Some 
fragments  of  his  memoirs  have  been  published  by  Cheruel,  in  the  course  of 
the  Journal  of  his  son,  Olivier  d'Ormesson. 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  49 


cost  him  nothing  but  the  abandonment  of  some 
last  friends.  In  truth,  he  received  but  little  in  ex- 
change. When  lie  came  to  salute  the  King  every 
one  made  him  feel  that  he  was  already  "  in  the 
ranks  of  the  dead,"  according  to  the  expression  of 
Mme.  de  Motteville.  The  ill-humour  caused  by 
this  impression  quickly  sent  him  back  to  Blois, 
which  was  precisely  what  was  wished. 

It  was  the  men  of  business  who  profited  above 
all  by  this  reconciliation.  They  had  greater  free- 
dom to  harass  Mademoiselle,  and  left  her  neither 
time  nor  repose.  Their  end  was  to  make  her  exe- 
cute the  transaction  signed  at  Orleans,  but  she 
held  her  own,  without  counsel  or  secretary.  She 
only  suffered  from  an  enormous  labour,  of  which  her 
minority  accounts  were  only  a  chapter,  and  not  the 
most  considerable.  The  administration  of  the  im- 
mense domains  had  fallen  entirely  upon  herself. 
It  was  now  Mademoiselle  who  opened  the  mass  of 
letters  arriving  from  her  registers,  foresters,  con- 
trollers, lawyers,  farmers,  and  single  subjects  —  in 
short,  from  all  who  in  the  principalities  of  Dombes 
or  of  Roche-sur-Yonne,  in  the  duchies  of  Mont- 
pensier  or  of  Catellerault,  had  an  account  to  settle 
with  her,  an  order  to  demand  of  her,  or  a  claim  to 
submit. 

It  was  Mademoiselle  herself  who  replied  ;  she 
who  followed  the  numerous  lawsuits  necessitated 
by  the  paternal  management ;  she  who  terminated 
the  great  affair  of  Champigny,  of  which  the  echo 
was  wide-spread  on  account  of  the  rank  of  the 


50  Louis  XIV.  and 

parties  and  of  the  remembrances  awakened  by  the 
pleaders. 

Champigny  was  a  productive  territory  situated 
in  Touraine,  and  an  inheritance  of  Mademoiselle. 
Richelieu  had  despoiled  her  of  it  when  she  was 
only  a  child,  through  a  forced  exchange  for  the 
Chateau  of  Bois-le-Vicomte,  in  the  environs  of 
Meaux. 

Become  mistress  of  her  own  fortune,  Mademoi- 
selle summoned  the  heirs  of  the  Cardinal  to  give 
restitution,  and  had  just  gained  her  suit  when  Mon- 
sieur took  away  Prefontaine.  The  decree  return- 
ing Champigny  to  her  allowed  her  also  damages, 
the  amount  to  be  decided  by  experts,  for  buildings 
destroyed  and  woods  spoiled.  Mademoiselle  es- 
timated that  these  damages  might  reach  a  large  sum  ; 
she  knew  that  with  her  father  at  Blois  the  rumour 
ran  that  she  had  been  placed  in  cruel  embarrass- 
ments and  that  it  would  be  repeated  to  all  comers 
that  she  had  obtained  almost  nothing  from  this 
source.  This  report  excited  her  to  action.  The 
moment  arrived ;  Mademoiselle  went  to  Cham- 
pigny, and  remained  there  during  several  weeks, 
spending  entire  days  upon  the  heels  of  eighteen 
experts,  procurers,  lawyers,  gentlemen,  masons, 
carpenters,  wood  merchants,  collected  together  to 
value  the  damages.  She  had  long  explanations 
with  that  "  good  soul  Madelaine,"  counsellor  of  the 
Parliament,  and  charged  with  directing  the  investi- 
gation, who  was  confounded  at  the  knowledge  of 
the  Princess.  He  said  to  her :  "  You  know  our 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  51 

business  better  than  we  ourselves,  and  you  talk  of 
affairs  like  a  lawyer."  Operations  finished,  Made- 
moiselle had  the  pleasure  of  writing  to  Blois  that 
this  doubtful  affair  from  which  she  was  supposed 
to  receive  only  "  50,000  francs,  really  amounted  to 
550,000."  She  came  out  less  generously  from  her 
litigation  with  her  father.  Mazarin  rendered  Made- 
moiselle the  bad  service  of  having  her  suit  intro- 
duced by  the  King's  counsellor.  A  decree  confirmed 
the  decision  of  Mme.  de  Guise,  and  there  was 
nothing  to  do  but  to  obey.  Mademoiselle  signed, 
"  furiously  "  weeping,  the  act  which  despoiled  her, 
and  submitted  with  despair  to  the  departure  for 
Blois. 

She  was  going  to  visit  her  father,  after  having 
the  thought  flash  through  her  mind  that  he  could 
order  her  assassination.  It  is  said  there  had  been 
some  question  of  this  at  Blois.  "  Immersed  in 
melancholy  reveries,  I  dreamed  that  his  Royal 
Highness  was  a  son  of  the  Medicis,  and  I  even  re- 
flected that  the  poison  of  the  Medicis  must  have 
already  entered  my  veins  and  caused  such  thoughts." 

Her  father,  on  the  other  hand,  was  going  to  over- 
whelm her  with  tenderness  after  having  permitted 
it  to  be  said  without  protest  that  Mademoiselle  was 
preparing  a  trap,  with  the  purpose  of  poisoning  one 
of  his  gentlemen. 

Considering  the  times  and  the  family,  this  was  a 
situation  only  a  little  "strained";  but  Mademoi- 
selle was  so  little  a  "  Medicis  "  that  she  made  her 
journey  a  prey  to  a  poignant  grief,  which  was  plainly 


52  Louis  XIV.  and 

to  be  read  upon  her  countenance  by  the  attendants 
at  her  arrival  at  Blois. 

"  Upon  my  arrival  I  felt  a  sudden  chill.  I  went 
directly  to  the  chamber  of  Monsieur ;  he  saluted 
me  and  told  me  he  was  glad  to  see  me.  I  replied 
that  I  was  delighted  to  have  this  honour.  He  was 
much  embarrassed."  Neither  the  one  nor  the  other 
knew  what  more  to  say.  Mademoiselle  silently 
forced  back  her  tears.  Monsieur,  to  give  himself 
composure,  caressed  the  greyhounds  of  his  daugh- 
ter, La  Reine  and  Madame  Souris.  Finally  he 
said  :  "  Let  us  go  to  seek  Madame." 

"  She  received  me  very  civilly  and  made  many 
friendly  remarks.  As  soon  as  I  was  in  my  own 
chamber,  Monsieur  came  to  see  me  and  talked  as 
if  nothing  disagreeable  had  passed  between  us." 
A  single  quarter  of  an  hour  had  sufficed  to  bring 
back  to  him  his  freedom  of  spirit,  and  he  made  an 
effort  to  regain  the  affections  of  his  daughter. 

She  had  never  known  him  to  continue  to  be 
severe  ;  Monsieur  counted  upon  this  fact.  He  was 
attentive,  flattered  her  weaknesses  great  and  small, 
amused  her  with  projects  of  marriage,  and  treated 
her  greyhounds  as  personages  of  importance  ;  he 
could  be  seen  at  midnight  in  the  lower  court  in  the 
midst  of  the  dunghill,  inquiring  about  Madame 
Souris,  who  had  met  with  an  accident.  He  did 
still  better ;  he  wrote  to  Mazarin  asking  for  an 
accommodation  with  Mademoiselle. 

After  the  rupture  with  Conde,  it  was  evident 
from  signs  not  to  be  mistaken  that  the  hour  was 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  53 

approaching  in  which  the  all-powerful  minister 
would  pardon  the  heroine  of  Orleans  and  of 
Porte  Saint-Antoine.  In  the  month  of  July,  1656, 
Mademoiselle  went  to  the  baths  of  Forges,  in 
Normandy.  She  had  passed  in  sight  of  Paris; 
had  sojourned  in  the  suburbs  without  anxiety,  and 
her  name  this  time  had  not  made  "  every  one  ill." 

Visitors  had  flocked.  Mademoiselle  had  enter- 
tained at  dinner  all  the  princesses  and  duchesses 
then  in  Paris ;  and  she  drew  the  conclusion,  know- 
ing the  Court  and  the  courtiers,  that  her  exile  was 
nearing  an  end.  "  In  truth,"  says  she,  "  I  do  not 
feel  as  much  joy  at  the  thought  as  I  should  have 
believed.  When  one  reaches  the  end  of  a  misery 
like  mine,  its  remembrance  lasts  so  long  and  the 
grief  forms  such  a  barrier  against  joy  that  it  is 
long  before  the  wall  is  sufficiently  melted  to  per- 
mit happiness  to  be  again  enjoyed." 

Nevertheless  the  news  of  the  letter  from  her 
father  to  Mazarin  put  her  in  a  great  agitation. 
The  Court  of  France  was  then  in  the  east  of 
France  where  Turenne  made  his  annual  campaign 
against  M.  le  Prince  and  the  Spaniards.  Made- 
moiselle resolved  to  approach  in  order  to  sooner 
receive  the  response  of  the  Cardinal. 

She  quitted  Blois  as  she  had  arrived  there,  a 
stranger.  One  single  thing  could  have  touched 
her  :  the  recall  of  Prefontaine  and  of  her  other  servi- 
tors struck  down  for  having  been  faithful.  This 
Monsieur  had  absolutely  refused;  his  exaggerated 
politeness  and  his  grimaces  of  tenderness  had  only 


54  Louis  XIV.  and 

the  result  of  alienating  his  daughter.  She  felt  that 
he  detested  her  and  she  no  longer  loved  him. 

Upon  the  route  to  Paris  she  doubled  the  length 
between  her  stopping-places.  Impatience  gained 
as  she  neared  the  end  and  the  "barrier  of  grief" 
permitted  itself  gradually  to  be  penetrated  by  joy. 

She  again  saw,  in  passing,  Etampes1  and  its  ruins, 
which  already  dated  back  five  years  and  were  found 
untouched  by  La  Fontaine  in  1663.  So  long  and 
difficult  in  certain  regions  was  the  uplifting  of 
France',  after  the  wars  of  the  Fronde,  never  taken 
very  seriously  by  historians,  doubtless  because  too 
many  women  were  concerned  in  them. 

"  We  looked  with  pity  at  the  environs  of 
Etampes,"  wrote  La  Fontaine.2  "  Imagine  rows 
of  houses  without  roofs,  without  windows,  pierced 
on  all  sides  ;  nothing  could  be  more  desolate  and 
hideous."  He  talked  of  it  during  an  entire  even- 
ing, not  having  the  soul  of  a  heroine  of  the  Fronde, 
but  Mademoiselle  had  traversed  with  indifference 
these  same  ruins  in  which  the  grass  flourished  in  de- 
fault of  inhabitants  to  wear  it  away.  No  remorse,  no 
regret,  however  light,  for  her  share  in  the  respon- 
sibility for  the  ruin  of  this  innocent  people,  had 
touched  her  mind,  and  yet  she  was  considered  to 
possess  a  tender  heart. 

She  learned  at  Saint-Cloud  that  she  had  been  in- 

1  Turenne  had  conquered  the  troops  of  the  Prince  at  Etampes  (May, 
1652),  upon  the  occasion  of  a  review  in  honour  of  Mademoiselle  and  pf  the 
disorder  which  resulted.  See  The  Youth  of  La  Grande  Mademoiselle. 
Some  weeks  later,  he  besieged  the  town. 

'Letter  to  his  wife,  August  3,  1663. 


JEAN  DE  LA  FONTAINE 
From  an  engraving  by  Grevedon 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  55 

vited  to  rejoin  the  Court  at  Sedan.  Mademoiselle 
took  a  route  through  Reims.  She  thus  traversed 
Champagne,  which  had  been  a  battle-field  during 
the  more  than  twenty  years  of  the  wars  with  Spain 1  \ 
and  which  appeared  the  picture  of  desolation.  The 
country  was  depopulated,  numbers  of  villages 
burned,  and  the  cities  ruined  by  pillage  and  forced 
contributions  of  war. 

More  curious  in  regard  to  things  which  interest 
la  canaille,  Mademoiselle  might  have  heard  from 
the  mouths  of  the  survivors  that  of  all  the  enemies 
who  had  trampled  upon  and  oppressed  this  unfor- 
tunate people,  the  most  cruel  and  barbarous  had 
been  her  ally,  the  Prince  de  Conde,  with  whom  were 
always  found  her  own  companies.  She  would  not 
the  less  have  written  in  her  Mdmoires,  entirely  uncon- 
sciously, apropos  of  her  trouble  in  obtaining  pardon 
from  the  Court :  "  I  had  really  no  difference  with 
the  Court,  and  I  was  criminal  only  because  I  was 
the  daughter  of  his  Royal  Highness." 

We  have  hardly  the  right  to  reproach  her  with 
this  monstrous  phrase.  To  betray  one's  country 
was  a  thing  of  too  frequent  occurrence  to  cause 
much  embarrassment.  The  only  men  of  this  epoch 
who  reached  the  point  of  considering  the  common 
people  2  and  attaching  the  least  importance  to  their 
sufferings  were  revolutionary  spirits  or  disciples  of 
St.  Vincent  de  Paul. 

Mademoiselle  had  no  leaning  towards  extremes. 

Richelieu  had  declared  war  with  Spain  March  26,  1635. 
3  The  phrase  is  by  Bussy-Rabutin. 


56  Louis  XIV.  and 

Neither  her  birth  nor  the  slightly  superficial  cast  of 
her  mind  fostered  free  opinions.  During  her  jour- 
ney in  Champagne,  she  was  delighted  to  hear  again 
the  clink  of  arms  and  the  sound  of  trumpets.  Maz- 
arin  had  sent  a  large  escort.  The  skirmishers  of 
the  enemy  swept  the  country  even  to  the  environs 
of  Reims.  A  number  of  the  people  of  the  Court, 
seizing  the  occasion,  joined  themselves  to  her,  in 
order  to  profit  by  her  gens  d'armes  and  light 
riders. 

Colbert  also  placed  himself  under  her  protection 
with  chariots  loaded  with  money  which  he  was 
taking  to  Sedan,  and  this  important  convoy  was 
surrounded  by  the  same  "  military  pomp,  as  if  it 
had  guarded  the  person  of  the  King." 

The  great  precautions  were,  perhaps,  on  account 
of  the  chariots  of  money ;  the  honours,  however, 
were  for  Mademoiselle,  and  they  much  flattered  her 
vanity.  The  commandant  of  the  escort  demanded 
the  order  from  her.  When  she  appeared  the  troops 
gave  the  military  salute.  A  regiment  which  she 
met  on  her  route  solicited  the  honour  of  being  pre- 
sented to  her.  She  examined  it  closely,  as  a  war- 
like Princess  who  understood  military  affairs,  and 
of  whom  the  grand  Conde  had  said  one  day, 
apropos  of  a  movement  of  troops,  that  "  Gustavus 
Adolphus  could  not  have  done  better."  A  cer- 
tain halt  upon  the  grass  in  a  meadow  through 
which  flowed  a  stream  left  an  indelible  impres- 
sion. Mademoiselle  offered  dinner  this  day  to 
all  the  escort  and  almost  all  the  convoy.  The 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  57 

sight  of  the  meadow  crowded  with  uniformed  men 
and  horses  recalled  to  her  the  campaigns  of  her 
fine  heroic  times.  "  The  trumpets  sounded  during 
dinner ;  this  gave  completely  the  air  of  a  true  army 
march."  She  arrived  at  Sedan  intoxicated  by  the 
military  spectacle  of  her  route,  and  her  entry 
showed  this.  Considering  her  late  exile  the  lack 
of  modesty  might  well  be  criticised.  The  Queen, 
Anne  of  Austria,  driving  for  pleasure  in  the  en- 
virons of  Sedan,  saw  a  chariot  appear  with  horses 
at  full  gallop  surrounded  by  a  mass  of  cavalry  :  "I 
arrived  in  this  field  at  full  speed  with  gens  d'armes 
and  light  riders,  their  trumpets  sounding  in  a  man- 
ner sufficiently  triumphant." 

The  entire  Court  of  France  recognised  the  Grande 
Mademoiselle  before  actually  seeing  her.  Exile 
had  not  changed  her,  and  this  entrance  truly  in- 
dicated her  weaknesses. 


CHAPTER   II 

The  Education  of  Louis  XIV. — Manners — Poverty — Charity — Vincent  de 
Paul,  a  Secret  Society — Marriage  of  Louis  XIV. — His  Arrival  at  Power, 
on  the  Death  of  Mazarin — He  Re-educates  himself. 

THE  remembrance  of  the  Fronde  was  destined 
to  remain  a  heavy  weight  during  the  remainder 
of  the  reign  of  Louis  XIV.  Its  shadow  dominated 
for  more  than  half  a  century  interior  politics  and 
decided  the  fate,  good  and  bad,  of  the  great  families. 

The  word  "  Liberty "  had  become  synonymous 
with  "  Licence,  Confusion,  Disorder,"1  and  the  an- 
cient Frondeurs  passed  the  remainder  of  their  lives 
in  disgrace,  or  at  least  in  disfavour.  The  Grande 
Mademoiselle  was  never  pardoned,  although  she  did 
not  wish  to  avow  this,  even  to  herself.  She  might 
have  realised  the  fact  at  once  upon  her  return  to 
Court,  if  she  had  not  decided  to  believe  the  contrary. 
Warnings  were  not  wanting.  The  first  was  her  en- 
counter with  the  Queen  Mother  in  the  field  of  Sedan. 

When  Anne  of  Austria  saw  arrive  to  sound  of 
trumpets,  with  manner  at  ease  and  triumphant,  this 
insolent  Princess  who  had  drawn  her  cannon  upon 
the  King,  hardly  embracing  her  niece,  the  Queen 

1  See'the  Memoires  de  Louis  XIV.,  edited  by  Charles  Dreyss.  The  Me- 
moires  of  Louis  XIV.  were  not  written  by  himself.  He  dictated  them  to 
his  secretaries  afterward  adding  notes  in  his  own  handwriting  and  correcting 
the  proofs.  See  the  Introduction  by  M.  Dreyss. 

58 


Louis  XIV.  and  La  Grande  Mademoiselle  59 

Mother  burst  into  reproaches,  and  declared  that 
after  the  battle  of  Saint-Antoine,  "  if  she  had  held 
her,  she  would  have  strangled  her." 1  Mademoiselle 
wept ;  the  Court  looked  on.  "  I  have  forgotten 
everything,"  said  the  Queen  at  length,  and  her 
niece  was  eager  to  believe  her.  The  meeting  with 
the  King  was  still  more  significant.  He  arrived  on 
horseback,  soaked  and  muddy,  from  the  city  of 
Montmedy,  taken  that  same  day  from  the  Spaniards 
(August  7,  1657). 

His  mother  said  to  him,  "  Behold  a  young  lady, 
whom  I  present  to  you  and  who  is  very  sorry  to 
have  been  so  naughty  ;  she  will  be  '  very  good '  in 
future."  The  young  King  only  laughed  and  replied 
by  talking  of  the  siege  of  Montmedy. 

Mademoiselle  nevertheless  departed  from  Sedan 
filled  with  joyous  thoughts.  She  imagined  reading 
in  all  eyes  the  news  of  marriage  with  the  brother  of 
the  King,  the  little  Monsieur.  He  was  seventeen, 
she  thirty,  with  hair  already  partially  white. 

Some  months  ensued,  passed  in  a  half  retreat,  and 
the  Grande  Mademoiselle  remained  with  the  Court 
during  the  years  of  transition  in  which  the  per- 
sonal government  of  Louis  XIV.  was  maturing. 
A  new  regime  was  being  born  and  a  new  world 
with  it. 

One  could  gradually  see  this  new  formation 
relegating  to  the  shadow  of  the  past  the  old  spirit 
of  independence,  and  stifling  the  confused  aspira- 
tions of  the  country  towards  any  legal  liberties. 

1  Memoir es  de  Mademoiselle  de  Montpensier.     Me"moires  de  Montglat. 


60  Louis  XIV.  and 

Mazarin  incarnated  this  great  political  movement. 
On  the  eve  of  disappearance,  this  unpopular  mini- 
ster had  become  all  France. 

He  was  master;  no  one  thought  any  longer  of 
resisting  him ;  but  he  was  always  detested,  never 
admired.  France  having  at  this  date  neither  jour- 
nals nor  parliamentary  debates,  the  foreign  policy 
of  Mazarin,  which  in  our  eyes  did  him  so  much 
honour,  remained  very  little  known  even  at  Paris. 
This  explains  why  his  glory  has  been  in  large  part 
posthumous.  It  has  increased  in  measure  as  it  has 
been  possible  to  judge  of  his  entire  policy,  from 
documents  contained  in  our  national  archives  or  in 
those  of  other  countries.  His  correspondence  dis- 
plays so  fine  a  diplomatic  genius,  that  the  historians 
have  turned  aside  from  the  evil  side  of  the  man, 
his  littlenesses,  in  order  to  give  full  weight  to  his 
services  as  minister.  Precisely  a  contrary  course 
had  been  taken  in  the  seventeenth  century.  Little 
besides  the  Cardinal's  defects,  open  to  all  eyes, 
were  realised.  Bad  fortune  had  redoubled  his  ra- 
pacity. Mazarin  had  guarded  in  his  heart  the  ex- 
perience of  poverty  at  the  time  in  which  he  was 
expelled  from  the  kingdom.  He  had  sworn  to 
himself  that  he  would  not  again  be  taken  without 
"  ammunition."  He  had  worked  industriously  since 
his  return  in  putting  aside  millions  in  safe  keeping. 
Everything  aided  him  in  raising  this  kind  of  war 
treasure.  He  sold  high  functions  of  State,  and  also 
those  belonging  to  low  degree,  even  to  that  of 
laundress  to  the  Queen.  He  shared  the  benefits 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  61 

with  the  corsairs  to  whom  he  gave  letters  of  marque. 
He  undertook  contracts  for  public  service,  pocketed 
the  money,  left  our  ambassadors  without  salaries, 
our  vessels  and  fortifications  without  means  of  sub- 
sistence. The  army  was  crying  with  hunger  and 
thirst  as  soon  as  he  made  himself  its  sutler  and  its 
commissariat.  He  furnished  bread  of  diminished 
purity  and  even  found  means,  said  the  courtiers, 
to  make  the  soldiers,  so  rarely  paid  themselves,  pay 
for  the  water  they  drank.  Turenne  once  broke  up 
his  plate  to  distribute  the  pieces  to  his  troops, 
who  were  perishing  from  want. 

Comical  scenes  mingled  with  these  tragic  ones. 
Bussy-Rabutin,  who  served  in  the  army  of  Turenne, 
had  been  fortunate  at  play.  The  Cardinal  had 
learned  of  this,  and  ordered  it  to  be  represented 
to  Bussy  that  his  pay  which  had  been  pledged  in 
the  game  would  be  guarded  by  the  Cardinal  as 
his  portion  of  the  gain.  He  had  extended  his 
traffic  into  the  royal  palace.  It  was  he  who  fur- 
nished furniture  and  utensils.  He  undertook  to 
provide  the  Court  mourning,  and  costumes  for  the 
fetes :  when  the  King  danced  a  ballet,  his  first 
minister  gained  by  the  decorations  and  accessories. 
The  housekeeping  accounts  passed  through  his 
hands.  During  the  campaign  of  1658,  he  sup- 
pressed the  King's  cook,  in  order  to  appropriate 
to  himself  what  the  table  would  have  cost.  Louis 
XIV.  was  forced  to  invite  himself  to  dine  with 
this  one  and  that  one.  Mazarin  touched  even  his 
pocket  money  and  the  young  King  permitted  it 


62  Louis  XIV.  and 

with  a  patience  which  was  a  constant  source  of 
astonishment  to  the  courtiers.  His  mother  was 
neither  better  treated  nor  less  submissive. 

The  Cardinal  was  as  jealous  of  his  authority  as 
of  his  money.  The  King  had  no  voice  in  his 
council ;  when  he  accorded  a  pardon,  however 
trivial,  his  first  minister  revoked  it,  "  scolding  him 
like  a  schoolboy." 1 

It  was  said  of  the  Queen  Mother  that  her  influ- 
ence was  only  worth  a  hundred  crowns,  and  she 
agreed.  Still  more,  she  was  scolded  from  morning 
till  night.  Age  had  rendered  Mazarin  insupport- 
able. He  had  no  delicacy  with  the  King,  still  less 
with  the  King's  mother :  the  courtiers  shrugged 
their  shoulders  in  hearing  him  speak  to  Anne  of 
Austria  "  as  to  a  chambermaid  "2 

The  Queen  was  not  insensible  to  this  rudeness. 
She  confessed  to  the  faithful  Motteville  "  that  the 
Cardinal  had  become  so  bad  tempered  and  so  avar- 
icious that  she  did  not  know  how  in  the  future  it 
was  going  to  be  possible  to  live  with  him."  But  it 
did  not  seem  to  occur  to  her  that  it  might  be 
possible  to  live  without  the  Cardinal.  Can  it  be  be- 
lieved that  Anne  of  Austria  and  Mazarin  were 
married,  as  La  Palatine,3  mother  of  the  Regent,  as- 
serted ?  As  they  gradually  grew  old,  one  is  tempted 
to  believe  it,  so  strongly  the  spectacle  offered  by 
these  illustrious  persons,  he  so  disagreeable,  she  so 

'  Montglat.  2  Id. 

3  Letters  of  January  3,  1717,  of  September  27,  1718,  and  of  July,  1722. 
Madame  adds  in  this  last:  "  Now,  all  the  circumstances  are  known." 


PRIERE  DU  ROY. 

Jesus-Christ  Roy  du  Ciel  et  de  la  Terre,  ie  vous  adore  et  reconnois  pour 
le  Roy  des  Roys.  C'est  de  vostre  Majeste"  Diuine  que  ie  tiens  ma  Couronne : 
mon  Dieu  ie  vous  1' off  re,  pour  la  Gloire  de  la  tare's  Saincte  Trinite",  et  pour 
1'honneur  de  la  Reine  des  Agnes  la  Sacre"e  Vierge  Marie  que  iay  choisy  pour 
ma  Protectrice,  et  des  Estats  que  vous  m'auez  donne;  Seigneur  baillez 
moy  vostre  crainte  et  une  si  graude  Sagesse  et  humilite,  que  ie  puisse  deuenir 
un  homme  selon  vostre  coeur ;  en  sorte  que  ie  merite  efficacement  le  tiltre 
aimable  de  Louis  Dieu  donne"  le  Pacifique  pour  maintenir  vostre  Peuple 
en  Paix,  afin  qu'il  vous  serve  avec  tranquilite",  et  1'acomplissement  de 
toutes  les  Vertus. 

VCEU  ET  PRIERE  DES  PEUPLES  POUR  LE  ROY. 

Adorable  Redempteur  Jesus-Christ,  qui  estes  le  distributeur  des  Cour- 
onnes,  receuez  la  piete"  du  Roy  tres-Crestien,  et  exaucez  ses  Prieres  respec- 
tueses  faites  par  I'entremise  de  vostre  Saincte  Mere  Vierge,  que  linfluence 
des  Graces  du  St.  Esprit  luy  soit  donnee,  afin  croissant  en  aage,  it  croisse 
aussi  en  telle  Sagesse,  qu'il  puisse  maintenir  voster  peuple  in  Paix,  pour 
mieux  obseruer  vos  saincts  cammandemens. 


(Translation  of  the  above.) 
PRAYER  OF  THE  KING. 

Jesus  Christ,  King  of  the  Heavens  and  the  Earth,  I  adore  Thee  and 
recognize  Thee  for  the  King  of  Kings,  the  divine  majesty  from  whom  I 
receive  my  crown,  which  I  offer  to  Thee  for  the  Glory  of  the  Most  Holy 
Trinity,  and  for  the  honor  of  the  Queen  of  Angels,  the  blessed  Virgin  Mary, 
whom  I  have  chosen  as  my  Protector,  and  also  of  the  States  which  Thou 
hast  given  me.  Lord  grant  me  due  reverence  and  that  I  may  possess  so 
much  wisdom  and  humility  that  I  may  become  a  man  after  Thine  own 
heart,  so  that  I  may  truly  merit  the  title  of  the  Beloved  Louis,  the  God-given 
and  peaceful,  and  be  able  to  maintain  Thy  people  in  peace  that  they  may 
live  in  tranquillity  and  virtuously  serve  Thee. 

VOW  AND  PRAYER  OF  THE  PEOPLE. 

Adorable  Redeemer  Jesus  Christ;  who  art  the  giver  of  crowns;  regard 
the  piety  of  the  most  Christian  King  and  listen  to  his  prayers  for  the  inter- 
vention of  the  most  blessed  Mother  Virgin;  and  grant  that  the  influence 
of  the  Holy  Spirit  may  so  be  poured  out  upon  him  that  as  he  increases 
in  years  he  may  also  grow  in  wisdom ;  and  that  he  may  keep  Thy  people 
in  peace  that  they  may  better  be  able  to  preserve  Thy  commands. 


LOUIS  XIV.  AS  A  BOY,  DEDICATING  HIS  CROWN 
After  the  painting  by  Greg  Huret 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  63 

submissive,  gives  the  impression  of  two  destinies 
"  united  together,"  according  to  the  expression  of 
the  Cardinal  himself, 1  "  by  bonds  which  could  not 
be  broken."  The  question  to  be  solved  is,  could 
Mazarin  marry  ?  According  to  tradition  he  was  not 
a  priest.  According  to  the  Euridite  that  point  is 
open  to  discussion. 3  Until  this  matter  is  fixed,  the 
marriage  of  Anne  of  Austria  with  her  minister  will 
remain  among  historical  enigmas,  for  everything 
said  will  be  words  in  the  air. 

The  patience  of  Louis  XIV.  can  only  be  explained 
by  his  entire  bringing  up  and  by  the  state  of  mind 
which  had  been  its  fruit. 

Louis's  cradle  had  been  surrounded  by  a  crowd 
of  servitors  charged  to  watch  over  his  least 
movement.  His  mother  adored  him  and,  for  a 
queen,  occupied  herself  much  with  him.  Neverthe- 
less, there  could  hardly  a  child  be  found  throughout 
the  entire  kingdom  so  badly  cared  for  as  the  son  of 
the  King. 

Louis  XIV.  had  never  forgotten  this  neglect  and 
spoke  of  it  all  his  life  with  bitterness. 

"  The  King  always  surprises  me,"  relates  Mme. 
de  Maintenon  at  Saint  Cyr,  "  when  he  speaks  to 
me  of  his  education.  His  governesses  gossiped  the 

1  Letter  to  the  Queen,  Anne  of  Austria,  October  27,  1651. 

2  March   23,   1865,    Pere    Theiner,    Guardian  of  the  Secret  Archives  of 
the  Vatican,  replied  to  some  one  who  had  pressed  the  question:   "Our  acts 
of  December  16,  1641,  in  which  Jules  Mazarin  was  created  Cardinal,  do 
not  say  whether  or  not  he  was  a  priest.     How  could    he  then  have  been 
admitted  to  the  order  of  Cardinal-priest  ?   No  doubt  he  was  a  priest."    The 
letter  of  Pere  Theiner  has  been  published  by  M.  Jules   Loiseleur  in  his 
Problemes  historiques. 


64  Louis  XIV.  and 

entire  day,  and  left  him  in  the  hands  of  their  maids 
without  paying  any  attention  to  the  young  Prince." 
The  maids  abandoned  him  to  his  own  devices  and 
he  was  once  found  in  the  basin  of  the  fountain  in 
the  Palais  Royal.  One  of  his  greatest  pleasures 
was  to  prowl  in  the  kitchens  with  his  brother,  the 
little  Monsieur.  "  He  ate  everything  he  could  lay 
his  hands  on  without  paying  attention  to  its  health- 
fulness.  If  they  were  frying  an  omelette,  he  would 
break  off  a  piece,  which  he  and  Monsieur  devoured 
in  some  corner." 1  One  day  when  the  two  little 
Princes  thus  put  their  fingers  into  the  prepared 
dishes,  the  cooks  impatiently  drove  them  away  with 
blows  from  dishcloths.  He  played  with  any  one. 
"  His  most  frequent  companion,"  again  relates 
Mme.  de  Maintenon,  "  was  the  daughter  of  the 
Queen's  own  maid."  When  he  was  withdrawn 
from  such  surroundings,  to  be  led  to  his  mother, 
or  to  figure  in  some  ceremony,  he  appeared  a  bash- 
ful boy  who  looked  at  people  with  embarrassment 
without  knowing  what  to  say,  and  who  cruelly  suf- 
fered from  this  shyness. 

One  day  after  they  had  given  him  a  lesson,  his 
timidity  prevented  him  from  remembering  the  right 
words  and  he  burst  into  tears  with  rage  and  anger. 
The  King  of  France  to  make  a  fool  of  himself ! 

At  five  and  a  half  years,  they  gave  him  a  tutor 
and  many  masters, 2  but  he  learned  nothing.  Maz- 

1  Letters  of  Madame  de  Maintenon  edited  by  Geoffroy. 

2  For   further   details   see   the   excellent  volume   of  M.  Lacour-Gayet, 
L' education  politique  de  Louis  XIV. 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  65 

arin  for  reasons  known  to  himself  would  not  force 
him  to  work  ;  and  circumstances  favoured  the  views 
of  the  first  minister.  The  Fronde  came,  and  rend- 
ered any  study  impossible  on  account  of  the 
complete  upsetting  of  the  daily  life  of  the  Court  of 
France,  which  was  only  encamped  when  it  was  not 
actually  on  the  move.  Louis  XIV.  was  fourteen  at 
the  date  of  the  reinstallation  of  the  Court  at  the 
Louvre  and  there  was  no  question  of  making  him 
recover  the  lost  time  ;  he  thenceforth  passed  his 
days  in  hunting,  in  studying  steps  for  the  ballet, 
and  in  amusing  himself  with  the  nieces  of  the 
Cardinal.  The  political  world  believed  that  it 
divined  the  reason  for  this  limited  education  and 
severely  expressed  its  opinion  about  it.  "  The 
King,"  wrote  the  Ambassador  from  Venice,1  "  ap- 
plies himself  the  entire  day  to  learning  the  ballet. 
.  .  .  Games,  dances,  and  comedies  are  the  only 
subjects  of  conversation  with  the  King,  the  inten- 
tion being  to  turn  him  aside  from  affairs  more  solid 
and  important."  The  Ambassador  returns  to  the 
same  subject  upon  the  occasion  of  an  Italian  opera,2 
in  which  the  King  exhibited  himself  as  Apollo  sur- 
rounded by  beautiful  persons  representing  the  nine 
muses: 

Certain  people  blame  this  affair,  but  these  do  not  under- 
stand the  politics  of  the  Cardinal,  who  keeps  the  King  ex- 
pressly occupied  with  pastimes,  in  order  to  turn  his  attention 

1  December  24th,  Relations  des  ambassadeurs  ve'nitiens. 

2  The  letter  is   dated  April    21,    1654.     Louis   XIV.   was  then  fifteen 
and  a  half  years  of  age. 


66  Louis  XIV.  and 

from  solid  and  important  pursuits,  and  whilst  the  King  is 
concerned  in  rolling  machines  of  wood  upon  the  stage,  the 
Cardinal  moves  and  rolls  at  his  good  pleasure,  upon  the 
theatre  of  France,  all  the  machines  of  state. 

Some  few  observers,  of  whom  Mazarin  himself 
was  one,  divined  that  this  youth,  with  his  air  of 
being  absorbed  in  tomfooleries,  secretly  reflected 
upon  his  profession  of  King,  and  upon  the  means  of 
rendering  himself  capable  of  sustaining  it.  Nature 
had  endowed  him  with  the  instinct  of  command, 
joined  to  a  very  lively  sentiment  of  the  duties  of 
his  rank.  Louis  says  in  his  Mtmoires,  "  even  from 
infancy  the  names  alone  of  the  kings  faineants 
and  mayors  of  the  palace  gave  me  pain  if  pro- 
nounced in  my  presence."  1 

His  preceptor,  the  Abbe  of  Perefixe,  had  encour- 
aged this  sentiment,  at  the  same  time,  however, 
permitting  his  pupil,  by  a  contradiction  for  which 
perhaps  he  was  not  responsible,  to  take  the  road 
which  leads  in  the  direction  of  idleness,  and  thus 
making  it  possible  for  Louis  to  become  a  true  King 
faineant  himself. 

Perefixe  had  written  for  the  young  King  a  history 
of  King  Henry  the  Great  in  which  one  reads 

that  royalty  is  not  the  trade  of  a  do-nothing,  that  it  con- 
sists almost  entirely  of  action,  that  a  King  should  make  a 
pleasure  of  his  duty,  that  his  enjoyment  should  be  in  reigning 
and  he  only  should  know  how  to  reign,  that  is,  he  should  him- 
self hold  the  helm  of  the  state.  His  glory  is  interested  in  this. 

1  Mme.  de  Motteville  had  heard  him  express  the  same  idea.      Cf.  his 
MSmoires,  v.,  101,  ed.  Petitot. 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  67 

In  truth,  who  does  not  know  that  there  can  be  no  honour  in 
bearing  a  title  whose  functions  one  does  not  fulfil — 

a  doctrine  which  would  suppress  the  first  ministers 
and  by  which  Louis  XIV.  profited  later. 

Chance  came  to  the  aid  of  the  preceptor.  On  June 
19,  1651,  the  ancient  governess  of  the  King,  Mme. 
de  Larisac,  disturbed  him  in  the  midst  of  a  lesson, 
in  order  to  make  a  gift  of  "  three  letters  written 
by  Catherine  de  Medicis  to  Henry  III.,1  her  son, 
for  his  edification."  Perefixe  took  the  letters  and 
read  them  aloud,  the  King  listening  "  with  much 
attention."  One  of  them  was  almost  a  memorial.2 
In  it,  Catherine  gave  to  her  son  the  same  precept  as 
Perefixe  to  his  pupil :  "  a  king  must  reign,"  that  is 
to  say,  carry  out  the  functions  belonging  to  his  title. 
In  order  to  "  reign,"  one  must  begin  to  work  at 
once  upon  awakening,  read  all  the  dispatches  and 
afterwards  the  replies,  speak  personally  to  the 
agents,  receive  every  morning  accounts  of  receipts 
and  expenditures  ;  pursue  this  course  from  morning 
till  night,  and  every  day  of  one's  life.  It  was  the 
programme  for  a  slave  to  power.  Louis  XIV. 
made  it  his  own,  in  the  bottom  of  his  soul ;  he  was 
not  yet  thirteen. 

Such  beautiful  resolutions  however,  were  destined 
to  remain  dead  so  long  as  Mazarin  lived.  They 
could  only  be  executed  to  the  detriment  of  his 

1  Les  fragments  des  memoir es  inedits  by  Dubois,  valet  of  Louis  XIV., 
published  by   Leon  Aubineau    in   the  Biblothe'que  de  F  £cole  des    Chartes^ 
and  in  his  Notices  litter  air  es  upon  the  i?th  century. 

2  Cf.  Lacour-Gayet,  p.  203. 


68  Louis  XIV.  and 

authority,  and  the  idea  of  entering  into  a  struggle 
with  the  Cardinal  was  repugnant  to  the  young 
King,  partially  on  account  of  old  affection,  par- 
tially on  account  of  timidity  and  the  habit  of 
obedience. 

The  mind  of  Louis  XIV.  had  however  been 
awakened  and  the  fruits  of  this  awakening  were 
later  visible,  but  for  a  time  he  was  content  to  find 
good  excuses  for  leaving  affairs  alone.  He  explains 
in  his  Mtmoires  that  he  was  arrested  by  political 
reasons  ;  as  he  had  too  much  experience  also  (how- 
ever strange  this  word  may  appear  when  applied 
to  a  child  so  foolishly  brought  up)  not  to  realise 
the  danger  of  a  revolution  in  the  royal  palace  in 
the  present  condition  of  France  after  the  devasta- 
tions of  the  civil  wars. 

In  default  of  the  science  which  one  draws  from 
books,  Louis  XIV.  had  received  lessons  in  realities 
from  the  Fronde  :  The  riots  and  barricades,  the 
vehement  discourse  of  the  Parliament  to  his  mother, 
the  humiliating  flights  with  the  Court,  the  periods  of 
poverty  in  which  his  servants  had  no  dinner  and  he 
himself  slept  with  his  sheets  full  of  holes,  and  wore 
clothes  too  short,  the  battles  in  which  his  subjects 
fired  upon  him,  the  treasons  of  his  relations  and  of 
his  nobility  and  their  shameful  bargains  ;  nothing 
of  all  this  had  been  lost  upon  the  young  King. 

With  a  surface  order  re-established,  he  perceived 
how  troubled  the  situation  remained  at  bottom, 
how  precarious,  and  he  judged  it  prudent  to  defer 
what  he  both  "  wished"  and  "  feared,"  says  very 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  69 

clearly  his  Memoir es.  He  queries  if  this  were  an 
error : 

It  is  necessary  [says  he]  to  represent  to  one's  self  the 
state  of  affairs:  Agitations  throughout  the  entire  kingdom 
were  at  their  height;  a  foreign  war  continued  in  which  a 
thousand  advantages  had  been  lost  to  France  owing  to  these 
domestic  troubles;  a  Prince  of  my  own  blood  and  a  very 
great  name  at  the  head  of  my  enemies;  many  cabals  in  the 
state;  the  Parliaments  still  in  possession  of  usurped  authority; 
in  my  own  Court  very  little  of  either  fidelity  or  interest,  and 
above  all  my  subjects,  apparently  the  most  submissive,  were 
as  great  a  care  and  as  much  to  be  suspected  as  those  most 
openly  rebellious. 

Was  this  the  moment  in  which  to  expose  the 
country  to  new  shocks  ? 

Louis  XIV.  had  remained  convinced1  to  the 
contrary,  avowing,  however,  that  he  had  much  to 
criticise  in  the  fashions  of  Mazarin, 

a  minister  [pursued  he]  re-established  in  spite  of  so  many 
factions,  very  able,  very  adroit,  who  loved  me  and  whom  I 
loved,  and  who  had  rendered  me  great  services,  but  whose 
thoughts  and  manners  were  naturally  very  different  from 
mine,  and  whom  I  could  not  always  contradict  nor  discredit 
without  anew  exciting,  by  that  image,  however  erroneous,  of 
disgrace,  the  same  tempests  which  had  been  so  difficult  to 
calm. 

The  King  had  also  to  take  into  consideration  his 
own  extreme  youth,  and  his  ignorance  of  affairs. 
He  relates  in  regard  to  this  point  his  ardent  desire 
for  glory,  his  fear  of  beginning  ill,  "  for  one  can 
never  retrieve  one's  self";  his  attention  to  the 

1 M.  Dreyss  dates  the  writing  of  this  portion  of  the  M/moires  about 
1670. 


70  Louis  XIV.  and 

course  of  events  "  in  secret  and  without  a  confi- 
dant"; his  joy  when  he  discovered  that  people 
both  able  and  consummate  shared  his  fashion  of 
thinking. 

Considering  everything,  had  there  ever  been  a 
being  urged  forward  and  retarded  so  equally,  in  his 
design  to  take  upon  himself  "  the  guidance  of  the 
state  "  ? 

This  curious  page  has  no  other  defect  than  that 
of  having  been  dictated  by  a  man  matured,  in 
whose  thoughts  things  have  taken  a  clearness  not 
existing  in  the  mind  of  the  youth,  and  who  believes 
himself  to  recollect  "  determinations "  when  there 
existed  in  reality  only  "  desires." 

Louis  XIV.  would  be  unpardonable  if  full  credit 
were  given  to  his  Mdmoires.  Why,  if  he  saw  so 
clearly,  did  he  grumble  at  any  kind  of  work  ? 
When  Louis  was  sixteen,  Mazarin  had  arranged 
with  him  some  days  in  which  he  might  be  present 
at  a  council.  The  King  was  bored  and  retired  to 
talk  of  the  next  ballet  and  to  play  the  guitar  with 
his  intimates.  Mazarin  was  obliged  to  scold  him 
to  force  him  to  return  and  remain  at  the  council. 

With  a  capacity  for  trifling,  he  cared  for  nothing 
serious,  and  there  was  much  laziness  contained  in 
his  resolution  to  leave  all  to  his  minister.  The 
Court  had  formed  its  own  opinion :  it  considered 
the  young  King  incapable  of  application.  It  was 
also  said  that  he  lacked  intelligence,  and  in  this 
belief  there  was  no  error.  Louis  himself  alluded 
to  this  and  said  with  simplicity,  "  I  am  very  stupid." 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  7l 

The  libertine  youth  who  surrounded  him,  and 
whom  his  solemn  air  restrained,  did  not  conceal  the 
fact  that  they  found  him  a  great  bore,  as  probably 
did  also  Madame  de  Maintenon  a  half-century  later. 
The  Guiche  and  the  Vardes  believed  him  doomed 
to  insignificance  and  did  not  trouble  themselves 
much  about  him.  The  city  was  less  convinced 
that  he  was  a  cipher,  perhaps  because  otherwise 
it  could  not  so  easily  have  taken  his  part.  Paris 
was  commencing  to  fear  those  princes  with  whom, 
for  one  reason  or  another,  first  ministers  were  ne- 
cessary, and  the  Parisian  bourgeoisie  was  on  the 
watch  for  some  proof  of  intelligence  in  the  young 
monarch.  "  It  is  said  that  the  mind  of  the  King  is 
awakening,"  wrote  Guy  Patin  in  1654;  "  God  be 
thanked  ! " 

This  first  light  not  having  an  apparent  devel- 
opment, Paris,  whilst  waiting  for  something  better, 
admired  the  looks  of  the  sovereign.  "  I  have 
to-day  seen  the  King  on  his  way  to  the  chase," 
again  wrote  Guy  Patin  four  years  later.  "  A  fine 
Prince,  strong  and  healthy  ;  he  is  tall  and  graceful ; 
it  is  a  pity  that  he  does  not  better  understand  his 
duties."1  His  serious  air  was  also  lauded,  his  dis- 
like to  debauchery  in  any  form,  and  the  modesty 
which  made  him  bravely  reply  before  the  entire 
Court,  to  a  question  about  a  new  play :  "  I  never 
judge  a  subject  about  which  I  know  nothing."  8 

This  was  not  the  response  of  a  fool. 

1  Letters  of  June  9,  1654,  and  April  9,  1658. 

2  Segraisiana,    Louis  XIV.  was  seventeen  when  he  made  this  remark. 


72  Louis  XIV.  and 

In  fine,  as  he  was  very  cold,  very  capable  of  dis- 
simulation, as  he  spoke  little,  through  calculation  as 
much  as  through  instinct,  and  generally  confined  his 
conversation  to  trifles,  this  youth  upon  whom  all 
France  had  its  eyes  fixed  remained  an  unknown 
quantity  to  his  subjects. 

In  September,  1657,  two  strangers  crossing  the 
Pont  Neuf  found  themselves  in  the  midst  of  a 
pressure  of  people.  The  crowd  precipitated  itself 
with  cries  of  joy  towards  a  carriage  whose  livery 
had  been  recognised. 

It  was  the  Grande  Mademoiselle  returning  from 
exile,  and  coming  to  take  possession  of  the  palace 
of  the  Luxembourg,  in  which  her  father  permitted 
her  to  lodge,  feeling  certain  that  he  himself  should 
never  return  to  it.  The  two  strangers  noted  in  their 
Journal  de  Voyage^-  that  the  Parisians  bore  a  "  par- 
ticular affection  "  for  this  Princess,  because  she  had 
behaved  like  a  "  true  amazon  "  during  the  civil  war. 

The  Court  had  resigned  itself  to  the  inevitable. 
Mademoiselle  had  remained  popular  in  Paris,  and 
her  exploits  during  the  Fronde  and  her  fine  bearing 
at  the  head  of  her  regiment  were  remembered  with 
enthusiasm.  She  only  passed  through  the  city  at 
this  time,  having  affairs  to  regulate  in  the  Provinces. 
Upon  her  definite  return  on  December  3ist,  the 
Court  and  the  city  crowded  to  see  her.  The 
Luxembourg  overflowed  during  several  days,  after 
which,  when  society  had  convinced  itself  that 
Mademoiselle  had  no  longer  a  face  "  fresh  as  a 

1  Journal  de  voyage  de  deux  jeunes  Hollandais  a  Paris  (1656-1658). 


LOUIS  XIV.  AS  A  YOUNG  MAN 
From  a  chalk  drawing  in  the  British  Museum  Print  Room 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  73 

fully  blown  rose," 1  its  curiosity  was  satisfied  and  it 
occupied  itself  with  something  else. 

Mademoiselle  herself  had  much  to  do.  The  idea 
of  marrying  the  little  Monsieur  had  not  left  her 
mind  since  the  meeting  at  Sedan.  She  was  assured 
that  the  Prince  was  dying  of  desire  for  her,  and 
Mademoiselle  naively  responded  that  she  very  well 
perceived  this.  "  This  does  not  displease  me,"  adds 
she  ;  "  a  young  Prince,  handsome,  well-made,  brother 
of  the  King,  appears  a  good  match." 

In  expectation  of  the  betrothal,  she  stopped  her 
pursuits  of  the  happy  interval  at  Saint-Fargeau  in 
which  she  had  loved  intellectual  pleasures,  in  order 
to  make  herself  the  comrade  of  a  child  only  ab- 
sorbed in  pastimes  belonging  to  his  age,  and  passed 
the  winter  in  dancing,  in  masquerading,  in  rushing 
through  the  promenades  and  the  booths  of  the  fair 
of  Saint-Germain.2 

The  public  remarked  that  the  little  Monsieur  ap- 
peared "  not  very  gay  "  with  his  tall  cousin,  and 
troubled  himself  but  little  to  entertain  her,3  and  that 
he  would  have  preferred  other  companions  better 
suited  to  his  seventeen  years. 

Mademoiselle  did  not  perceive  this.  Philip,  Duke 
of  Anjou,  had  a  face  of  insipid  beauty  posed  upon 
a  little  round  body.  He  did  not  lack  esprit,  had 
not  an  evil  disposition,  and  would  have  made  an 

1  Mtmoires  de  Mme.  de  Motteville. 

2  The  fair  of  Saint-Germain  was  held  between  Saint-Sulpice  and  Saint- 
Germain-des-Pres,  from  February  3d  to  the  evening  before  Palm  Sunday. 
The  Court  and  the  populace  elbowed  each  other  there. 

3  Journal  de  deuxjeunes  Hollandais. 


74  Louis  XIV.  and 

amiable  prince  if  reasons  of  state  had  not  tended 
to  reduce  him  to  the  condition  of  a  marionette. 

His  mother  and  Mazarin  had  brought  him  up 
as  a  girl,  for  fear  of  his  later  troubling  his  elder 
brother,  and  this  education  had  only  too  well  suc- 
ceeded. By  means  of  sending  him  to  play  with  the 
future  Abbe  de  Choisy,  who  put  on  a  robe  and 
patches  to  receive  him ;  by  means  of  having  him 
dressed  and  barbered  by  the  Queen's  maids  of  hon- 
our and  putting  him  in  petticoats  and  occupying  him 
with  dolls,  he  had  been  made  an  ambiguous  being, 
a  species  of  defective  girl  having  only  the  weak- 
nesses of  his  own  sex.  Monsieur  had  a  new  coat 
every  day  and  it  worried  him  to  spot  it,  and  to  be 
seen  with  his  hair  undressed  or  in  profile  when  he 
believed  himself  handsomer  in  full  face.  Paris 
possessed  no  greater  gossip ;  he  babbled,  he  med- 
dled, he  embroiled  people  by  repeating  everything, 
and  this  amused  him. 

Mademoiselle  considered  it  her  duty  to  "  preach  " 
to  him  of  "  noble  deeds,"  but  she  wasted  her  time. 
He  was  laziness  and  weakness  itself.  The  two 
cousins  were  ill-adapted  to  each  other  in  every  way. 

When  they  entered  a  salon  together,  Monsieur 
short  and  full,  attired  in  the  costume  of  a  hunter, 
his  garments  sewed  from  head  to  foot  with  precious 
stones,  Mademoiselle  a  little  masculine  of  figure 
and  manner  and  negligent  in  her  dress,  they  were 
a  singular  couple.  Those  who  did  not  know  them 
opened  their  eyes  wide,  and  they  were  often  seen 
together  in  the  winter  at  least,  for  the  society  was 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  75 

at  this  date  most  mixed,  even  in  the  most  elite 
circles. 

From  Epiphany  to  Ash- Wednesday,  the  Parisians 
had  no  greater  pleasure  than  to  promenade  masked 
at  night,  and  to  enter  without  invitation  into  any 
house  where  an  entertainment  was  taking  place. 
Louis  XIV.  gladly  joined  in  these  gaieties.  Upon 
one  evening  of  Mardi-Gras,  when  he  was  thus  run- 
ning the  streets  with  Mademoiselle,  they  met  Mon- 
sieur dressed  as  a  girl  with  blond  hair.1  Keepers 
of  inns  sent  their  guests  to  profit  by  this  chance  of 
free  entry.  A  young  Dutchman  related  that  he  went 
the  same  night  "  with  those  of  his  inn  "  to  five  great 
balls,  the  first  at  the  house  of  Mme.  de  Villeroy, 
the  last  with  the  Duchess  of  Valentinois,  and  that 
he  had  seen  at  each  place  more  than  two  hundred 
masks.2 

The  crowd  would  not  permit  that  entrance  should 
be  refused  on  any  pretext. 

The  same  Dutchman  reports  with  a  note  of  bit- 
terness that  on  another  evening  it  had  been  im- 
possible to  penetrate  into  the  house  of  the  Marechal 
de  I'Hopital,  because  the  King  being  there,  measures 
had  been  taken  to  avoid  too  great  a  crowd.  Cus- 
tom obliged  every  one  to  submit  to  receiving 
society,  choice  or  not.  At  a  grand  f6te  given  by 
the  Due  de  Lesdiguieres,  which  in  the  bottom  of 
his  heart  he  was  offering  to  Mme.  de  Sevigne, 
"  The  King  had  hardly  departed  when  the  crowd 

1  Me'moires  of  Mademoiselle. 

2  Journal  de  deux  jeunes  Hollandais. 


76  Louis  XIV.  and 

commenced  to  scuffle  and  to  pillage  every  thing, 
until,  as  it  was  stated,  it  became  necessary  to  replace 
the  candles  of  the  chandeliers  four  or  five  times 
and  this  single  article  cost  M.  de  Lesdiguieres 
more  than  a  hundred  pistoles."1 

Such  domestic  manners  had  the  encouragement 
of  the  King,  who  also  left  his  doors  open  upon 
the  evenings  on  which  he  danced  a  ballet.  He  did 
better  still.  He  went  officially  to  sup  "with  the 
Sieur  de  la  Baziniere,"  ancient  lackey  become 
financier  and  millionaire,  and  having  the  bearing, 
the  manners,  and  the  ribbon  cascades  of  the  Mar- 
quis de  Mascarille.  He  desired  that  Mademoiselle 
should  invite  to  the  Luxembourg,  Mme.  de  l'H6pi- 
tal,  ancient  laundress  married  twice  for  her  beauti- 
ful eyes ;  the  first  time  by  a  partisan,  the  second 
by  a  Marshal  of  France.  These  lessons  were  not 
lost  upon  the  nobility.  Mesalliances  were  no  more 
discredited,  even  the  lowest,  the  most  shameful, 
provided  that  the  dot  was  sufficient.  A  Duke  and 
Peer  had  married  the  daughter  of  an  old  charioteer. 
The  Marechal  d'Estrees  was  the  son-in-law  of  a 
partisan  known  under  the  name  of  Morin  the  Jew. 
Many  others  could  be  cited,  for  the  tendency  in- 
creased from  year  to  year. 

In  1665,  tne  King  having  entered  Parliament,2 
in  order  to  confirm  an  edict,  a  group  of  men 
amongst  whom  was  Olivier  d'Ormesson  were  re- 
garding the  Tribune  in  which  were  seated  the 
ladies  of  the  Court.  Some  one  thought  of  counting 

1  yournal  de  deux  jeunes  Hollandais.  2  April  2gth. 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  77 

how  many  of  these  were  daughters  of  parvenues  or 
of  business  men  ;  he  found  three  out  of  six.  Two 
others  were  nieces  of  Mazarin,  married  to  French 
nobles.1  The  single  one  of  aristocratic  descent  was 
Mile.  d'Alengon,  a  half-sister  of  the  Grande  Made- 
moiselle. One  could  hardly  have  anticipated  such 
figures,  even  allowing  for  chance. 

The  King,  however,  approved  of  this  state  of 
affairs  and  the  nobility  was  ruined ;  every  one 
seized  on  what  support  he  could.  The  general 
course  of  affairs  was  favourable  to  this  confusion 
of  rank.  From  the  triumphal  re-entry  of  Mazarin 
in  1653,  until  his  death  in  1661,  a  kind  of  universal 
freedom  continued  at  the  Court  which  surprised  the 
ancient  Frondeurs  on  their  return  from  exile.  The 
young  monarch  himself  encouraged  familiarities 
and  lack  of  etiquette. 

It  was  the  nieces  of  the  Cardinal  who  were 
largely  responsible  for  these  changes  in  manners 
and  who  gained  their  own  profit  through  the  ad- 
ditional freedom,  since  Marie,  the  third  of  the 
Mancini,  was  soon  to  almost  touch  the  crown  with 
the  tip  of  her  finger.  Mademoiselle  had  some 
trouble  in  accustoming  herself  to  the  new  manners 
towards  the  King. 

For  me  [says  she],  brought  up  to  have  great  respect,  this 
is  most  astonishing,  and  I  have  remained  long  time  without 
habituating  myself  to  this  new  freedom.  But  when  I  saw 
how  others  acted,  when  the  Queen  told  me  one  day  that  the 

1  To  the  Due  de  Bouillon  and  to  the  son  of  the  Marshal  Due  de  La 
Meilleraye,  who  took  the  title  of  Due  de  Mazarin. 


78  Louis  XIV.  and 

King  hated  ceremony,  then  I  yielded;  for  without  this  high 
authority  the  faults  of  manner  could  not  be  possible  with 
others. 

The  pompous  Louis  XIV.  wearing  the  great 
wig  of  the  portraits  did  not  yet  exist,  and  the 
Louvre  of  1658  but  little  resembled  the  particular 
and  formal  Versailles  of  the  time  of  Saint-Simon.1 

The  licence  extended  to  morals.  Numbers  of 
women  of  rank  behaved  badly,  some  incurred  the 
suspicion  of  venality,  and  no  faults  were  novelties ; 
but  vice  keeps  low  company  and  it  was  this  result 
which  proud  people  like  Mademoiselle  could  not 
suffer. 

When  it  was  related  to  her  that  the  Duchesse  de 
Chatillon,  daughter  of  Montmorency-Boutteville, 
had  received  money  from  the  Abbe  Foucquet2  and 
wiped  out  the  debt  by  permitting  such  lackey-like 
jokes  as  breaking  her  mirrors  with  blows  of  the 
foot,  she  was  revolted.  "  It  is  a  strange  thing," 
wrote  she,  "  this  difference  of  time ;  who  would 
have  said  to  the  Admiral  Coligny,  '  The  wife  of 
your  grandson  will  be  maltreated  by  the  Abbe 
Foucquet? — he  would  not  have  believed  it,  and 
there  was  no  mention  at  all  of  this  name  of  Foucquet 
in  his  time." 

In  the  mind  of  Mademoiselle,  who  had  lived 
through  so  many  periods,  it  was  the  low  birth  of 
the  Abbe  which  would  have  affected  the  Admiral. 

1  It  must  not  be  forgotten  that  Saint-Simon  was  presented  at  Court  in 
1692.     Louis  XIV.  was  then  fifty-four,  and  had  reigned  forty-nine  years. 
Saint-Simon  only  knew  the  end  of  the  reign. 

2  Brother  of  the  Superintendent  of  Finances. 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  79 

"  Whatever  may  be  said,"  added  she,  "  I  can  never 
believe  that  persons  of  quality  abandon  themselves 
to  the  point  which  their  slanderers  say.  For  even 
if  they  did  not  consider  their  own  safety,  worldly 
honour  is  in  my  opinion  so  beautiful  a  thing  that 
I  do  not  comprehend  how  any  one  can  despise  it." 

Mademoiselle  did  not  transgress  upon  the  re- 
spect due  to  the  hierarchy  of  rank ;  for  the  rest, 
she  contented  herself  with,  what  are  called  the 
morals  of  respectable  people,  which  have  always 
been  sufficiently  lenient.  She  understood,  how- 
ever, all  the  difference  between  this  morality  and 
Christian  principles. 

The  Provinciates  (1656)  had  made  it  clear  to  the 
blindest  that  it  was  necessary  to  choose  between 
the  two.  Mademoiselle  had  under  this  influence 
made  a  visit  to  Port  Royal  des  Champs  1  and  had 
been  entirely  won  by  these  "  admirable  people " 
who  lived  like  saints  and  who  spoke  and  wrote 
"  the  finest  eloquence,"  while  the  Jesuits  would  have 
done  better  to  remain  silent,  "having  nothing  good 
to  say  and  saying  it  very  badly,"  "  for  assuredly 
there  were  never  fewer  preachers  amongst  them 
than  at  present  nor  fewer  good  writers,  as  appears 
by  their  letters.  This  is  why  for  all  sorts  of 
reasons  they  would  have  done  better  not  to  write." 

Seeing  Mademoiselle  so  favourably  impressed, 
one  of  the  Monsieurs  of  Port  Royal,  Arnauld  d'An- 
dilly,  said  upon  her  departure,  "  You  are  going  to 
the  Court ;  you  can  give  to  the  Queen  account  of 

1  In  the  summer  of  1657. 


8o  Louis  XIV.  and 

what  you  have  seen." — "  I  assure  you  that  I  will 
willingly  do  this." 

Knowing  her  disposition,  there  is  but  little  doubt 
that  she  kept  her  word  ;  but  this  was  all.  The 
worthy  Mademoiselle,  incapable  of  anything  low  or 
base,  did  not  dream  for  a  second  of  allowing  the 
austere  morality,  ill  fitted  for  the  needs  of  a  court, 
to  intervene  in  influencing  her  judgments  upon 
others,  or  in  the  choice  of  her  friends.  She  blamed 
the  Duchesse  de  Chatillon  for  reasons  with  which 
virtue,  properly  named,  had  nothing  to  do.  We  see 
her  soon  after  meeting  Mme.  de  Montespan,  because 
common  morality  has  nothing  to  blame  in  a  King's 
mistress. 

Mme.  de  Sevigne  agreed  with  Mademoiselle  and 
they  were  not  alone.  This  attitude  gave  a  kind  of 
revenge  to  the  Jesuits. 

Tastes  became  as  common  as  sentiments  ;  those 
of  the  King  were  not  yet  formed,  and  the  pleasure 
taken  in  the  ballet  in  the  theatre  of  the  Louvre  in- 
jured the  taste  for  what  was,  in  fact,  no  longer 
tragedy.  Corneille  had  given  up  writing  for  the 
first  time  in  1652,  after  the  failure  of  his  Pertharite. 
The  following  year,  Quinault  made  his  debut  and 
pleased.  He  taught  in  his  tragi-comedies,  flowery 
and  tender,  that  "  Love  makes  everything  permiss- 
ible," which  had  been  said  by  Honore  d'Urfe  in 
r Astrte,  a  half-century  previous,  and  he  retied, 
without  difficulty,  after  the  Corneillian  parenthesis, 
the  thread  of  a  doctrine  which  has  been  transmitted 
without  interruption  to  our  own  days. 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  81 

Love  justifies  everything,  for  the  right  of  passion 
is  sacred,  nothing  subsists  before  it. 

Dans  1'empire  amoureux. 

Le  devoir  n'a  point  de  puissance. 

L'e"clat  de  beaux  yeux  adoucit  bien  un  crime  ; 
Au  regard  des  amants  tout  parait  le'gitime.1 

The  idea  which  this  verse  expresses  can  be  found 
throughout  the  works  of  Quinault.  He  has  said  it 
again  and  again,  with  the  same  langourous,  insinu- 
ating sweetness,  for  a  period  which  lasted  more 
than  thirty  years,  and  in  the  beginning  no  one  very 
seriously  divided  with  him  the  attention  of  the 
public. 

At  the  appearance  of  his  first  piece  in  1653,  Ra- 
cine was  fourteen  ;  Moliere  did  not  return  to  Paris 
until  1658.  Corneille,  in  truth,  was  preparing  his 
return  to  the  theatre ;  but  he  found  when  his  last 
tragedies  were  played,  that  he  had  done  well  to 
study  Quinault,  and  in  doing  this  he  had  not 
wasted  his  time; — a  decisive  proof  of  the  echo 
to  which  souls  responded, 2  and  of  the  increasing 
immorality  of  the  new  era. 

Thus  the  Court  of  France  lost  its  prestige.  The 
eclat  cast  by  the  Fronde  upon  the  men  and  women 
seeking  great  adventures  had  been  replaced  by  no 
new  enthusiasms.  The  pleasures  to  which  entire 
lives  were  devoted  had  not  always  been  refining,  as 
we  have  seen  above,  and  people  had  not  grown  in 

1  Vers  d  Atys,  opera  played  in  1676,  and  (TAstrate^  tragedy  of  1663. 
8  The  phrase  is  M.  Jules  Lemaitre's. 


82  Louis  XIV.  and 

intelligence.  The  bold  crowd  of  the  Mazarins 
gave  the  tone  to  the  Louvre,  and  this  tone  lacked 
delicacy.  The  Queen,  Anne  of  Austria,  groaned 
internally,  but  she  had  loosed  the  reins ;  except  in 
the  affair  of  her  son's  marriage  she  had  nothing  to 
refuse  to  the  nieces  of  Cardinal  Mazarin. 

Because  the  Court  was  in  general  lazy  and  frivo- 
lous, a  hasty  opinion  of  the  remainder  of  France 
should  not  be  formed.  The  Court  did  not  fairly 
represent  the  entire  nation  ;  outside  of  it  there  was 
room  for  other  opinions  and  sentiments.  It  was 
during  the  years  of  1650  to  1656,  which  appear  to 
us  at  first  sight  almost  a  moral  desert,  that  private 
charity  made  in  the  midst  of  France  one  of  its 
greatest  efforts,  an  effort  very  much  to  the  honour 
of  all  concerned  in  it. 

I  have  noticed  elsewhere 1  the  frightful  poverty  of 
the  country  during  the  Fronde.  This  distress  which 
was  changing  into  desert  places  one  strip  after  an- 
other of  French  territory,  must  be  relieved,  and 
amongst  those  in  authority  no  one  was  found  capa- 
ble of  doing  it. 

It  is  hardly  possible  to  represent  to  one's  self  to- 
day the  condition  left  by  the  simple  passage  of  an 
army  belonging  to  a  civilised  people,  through  a 
French  or  German  land,  two  or  three  hundred 
years  ago. 

1  See  The  Youth  of  La  Grande  Mademoiselle.  For  this  chapter  cf. 
La  misers  au  temps  de  la  Fronde  et  Saint-  Vincent  de  Paul,  by  Feillet ;  La 
cabale  des  de"vots,  by  Raoul  Allier ;  Saint-  Vincent  de  Paul,  by  Emanuel 
Broglie  ;  Saint-  Vincent  de  Paulet  les  Goudi,  by  Chantelauze  ;  Pott-Royal, 
by  Sainte-Beuve. 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  83 

The  idea  of  restricting  the  sufferings  caused  by 
war  to  those  which  are  inevitable  is  a  novel  one. 
In  the  seventeenth  century,  on  the  contrary,  the 
effort  was  to  increase  them.  The  chiefs  for 
the  most  part  showed  a  savage  desire  to  excite  the 
mania  for  destruction  which  is  so  easily  aroused 
with  soldiers  during  a  campaign.  Towards  the 
end  of  the  Fronde,  some  troops  belonging  to 
Conde,  then  in  the  service  of  the  King  of  Spain, 
occupied  his  old  province  of  Bourgogne.  If  any 
district  of  France  could  have  hoped  to  be  respected 
by  the  Prince,  it  was  this  one  ;  his  father  had  pos- 
sessed it  before  him  and  it  was  full  of  their  friends. 
Ties  of  this  kind,  however,  were  of  no  advantage. 
March  23,  1652,  the  States  of  Bourgogne  wrote  to 
M.  de  Bielle,  their  deputy  at  Court  : 

The  enemies  having  already  burned  fourteen  villages  [the 
names  follow],  besides  others  since  burned,  these  fire-fiends 
are  still  in  campaign  and  continuing  these  horrible  ravages, 
all  which  has  been  under  the  express  order  of  M.  le  Prince, 
which  the  commandant  [de  la  ville]  de  Seurre  has  received, 
to  burn  the  entire  Province  if  it  be  possible.  The  same  Sieur 
de  Bielle  can  judge  by  the  account  of  these  fires,  to  which 
there  has  so  far  been  no  impediment  presented,  in  what  state 
the  Province  will  be  in  a  short  time. 

The  common  soldier  troubled  himself  little 
whether  the  sacked  region  was  on  the  one  or  the 
other  side  of  the  frontier.  He  made  hardly  any 
difference. 

Some  weeks  after  the  fires  in  Bourgogne,  two 
armies  tortured  the  Brie.  The  one  belonged  to 


84  Louis  XIV.  and 

the  King,  the  other  to  the  Due  de  Lorraine,  and 
there  was  only  a  shade  less  of  cruelty  with  the 
French  forces  than  with  the  others.  When  all  the 
troops  had  passed,  the  country  was  filled  with 
charnel  houses,  and  there  are  charnel  houses  and 
charnel  houses. 

That  of  Rampillon,1  particularly  atrocious,  must 
be  placed  to  the  account  of  the  Lorraines  :  "  at 
each  step  one  met  mutilated  people/  with  scattered 
limbs ;  women  cut  in  four  quarters  after  violation ; 
men  expiring  under  the  ruins  of  burning  houses, 
others  spitted."  2  No  trouble  was  taken  to  suppress 
these  hells  of  infection. 

It  would  be  difficult  to  find  any  fashion  of  carry- 
ing on  a  war  both  more  ferocious  and  more  stupid. 
Some  chiefs  of  divisions,  precursers  of  humanitarian 
ideas,  timidly  protested,  in  the  name  of  interest 
only,  against  a  system  which  always  gave  to  cam- 
paigning armies  the  plague,  famine,  and  universal 
hatred.  A  letter  addressed  to  Mazarin,  and  signed 
by  four  of  these,  Fabert  at  the  head,  supplicates 
him  to  arrest  the  ravages  of  a  foreigner  in  the 
services  of  France,  M.  de  Rosen.  Mazarin  took 
care  to  pay  no  attention  to  this  protest :  it  would 
have  been  necessary  first  to  pay  Rosen  and  his 
soldiers.  If  it  is  expected  to  find  any  sense  of  re- 
sponsibility in  the  State,  in  the  opinion  of  contem- 
poraries, for  saving  the  survivors,  left  without 
bread,  animals,  nor  harvests,  without  roof  and  with- 

1  Village  of  the  arrondissement  of  Provins. 
8  Feillet,  La  mistre  au  temps  de  la  Fronde. 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  85 

out  working  tools,  there  is  disappointment ;  the 
State  held  itself  no  more  responsible  for  public  dis- 
asters than  for  the  poor,  always  with  it. 

The  conception  of  social  duty  was  not  yet  born. 
Public  assistance  was  in  its  infancy,  and  the  little 
which  existed  had  been  completely  disorganised  by 
the  general  disorders  ;  like  everything  else.  Each 
city  took  care  of  its  beggars  or  neglected  them  ac- 
cording to  its  own  resources  and  circumstances. 
On  the  other  hand,  the  idea  of  Christian  charity 
had  taken  a  strong  hold  upon  some  circles,  under 
the  combined  influence  of  the  Jansenism  which  ex- 
acted from  its  devotees  a  living  faith  ;  of  a  secret 
Catholic  society  whose  existence  is  one  of  the  most 
curious  historical  discoveries  of  these  last  years 1  ; 
and  of  a  poor  saint  whose  peasant  airs  and  whose 
patched  soutane  caused  much  laughter  when  he 
presented  himself  before  the  Queen.  Vincent  de 
Paul  is  easily  recognised.  Relations  with  great 
people  had  not  changed  him.  It  was  said  of  him 
after  years  of  Court  society,  "  M.  Vincent  is  always 
M.  Vincent,"  and  this  was  true  :  men  of  this  calibre 
never  change,  happily  for  the  world. 

He  became  the  keynote  of  the  impulse  which 
caused  the  regeneration  of  provincial  life,  almost 
ruined  by  the  wars  of  the  Fronde.  Even  after  the 
work  was  ended  it  would  be  difficult  to  decide  upon 
the  share  of  each  of  these  bodies  in  this  colossal 
enterprise.  The  society  to  which  allusion  has 
been  made  was  founded  in  1627,  by  the  Due  de 

1  See  the  volume  of  Raoul  Allier,  La  cabale  des  dfoots. 


86  Louis  XIV.  and 

Ventadour,  whose  mystical  thought  had  led  him, 
as  often  happens,  to  essentially  practical  works. 
The  name  of  Compagnie  du  Saint  Sacrement 
was  given  it,  and  without  doubt  its  supreme  end 
was  "to  make  honoured  the  Holy  Sacrament." 

Precisely  on  account  of  this,  the  society  sought 
to  "  procure  "  for  itself  "  all  the  good  "  in  its  power, 
for  nothing  is  more  profitable  to  religion  than  sup- 
port, material  as  well  as  spiritual  and  moral,  dis- 
tributed under  its  inspiration  and  as  one  might  say 
on  its  own  part. 

One  passes  easily  from  the  practice  of  charity, 
a  source  of  precious  teaching,  to  the  correction  of 
manners.  After  comes  the  desire  to  control  souls, 
which  naturally  leads  to  the  destruction  of  heresies, 
with  or  without  gentleness. 

This  programme  was  responsible  for  many  ad- 
mirable charitable  works,  two  centuries  in  advance 
of  current  ideas,  and,  at  the  same  time,  for  cruelties, 
infamies,  all  the  vices  inseparable  from  the  sectarian 
spirit  in  which  the  end  justifies  the  means. 

Once  started,  the  society  rapidly  increased,  al- 
ways hidden,  and  multiplying  precautions  not  to  be 
discovered,  since  neither  clergy  nor  royalty  were 
well  disposed  towards  this  mysterious  force,  from 
which  they  were  constantly  receiving  shocks  with- 
out being  able  to  discover  whence  came  the  blows. 

It  was  an  occult  power,  analogous  in  its  extent 
and  its  intolerance,  and  even  in  the  ways  and  means 
employed,  to  the  Free  Masonry  of  the  present. 

The  Compagnie  du  Saint-Sacrement  had  links 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  87 

throughout  France  and  in  all  classes.  Anne  of 
Austria  was  included  in  its  sacred  band  and  a 
shoemaker  played  in  it  an  important  role.  Vincent 
de  Paul  enrolled  himself  in  the  ranks  towards  the 
year  1635,  contributed  to  the  good,  and  probably 
was  ignorant  of  the  evil  to  be  found  in  its  folds. 
Dating  from  his  affiliation,  his  charitable  works  so 
mingled  with  those  of  the  society  that  it  was  no 
longer  to  be  recognised.  The  society  brought  to 
the  Saint  powerful  succour,  and  aided  him  effect- 
ively in  finding  the  support  of  which  he  had  need ; 
it  would  be  difficult  to  say  from  whom  came  the 
first  idea  of  many  good  works. 

As  for  what  at  present  concerns  us,  however,  the 
point  of  departure  is  known.  It  was  neither  Vin- 
cent de  Paul  nor  the  Compagnie  du  Saint-Sacre- 
ment  which  conceived  and  put  in  train  the  prodigious 
work  of  relieving  the  Provinces.  The  first  commit- 
tee of  relief  was  founded  in  Paris,  in  1649,  by  a 
Janseniste,  M.  de  Bernieres,  who  was  also  respons- 
ible for  the  invention  of  the  printed  "  Relations  " 
which  were  informing  all  France  of  the  miseries  to 
be  relieved.  It  was  the  first  time  that  Charity  had 
aided  itself  through  publicity.  It  soon  found  the 
value  of  this.  M.  de  Bernieres  and  his  commit- 
tee, in  which  the  wives  of  members  of  Parlia- 
ment dominated,  were  soon  able  to  commence  in 
Picardie  and  Champagne  the  distribution  of  bread, 
clothing,  grain,  and  working  implements.  Hospi- 
tals were  established.  They  put  an  end  to  the 
frightful  feeling  of  desolation  of  these  unfortunate 


88  Louis  XIV.  and 

populations,  pillaged  during  so  many  years  by  mer- 
cenaries of  all  races  and  tongues.  But  the  number 
of  workers  was  small  even  if  their  zeal  was  great, 
and  the  Janseniste  community  was  not  equipped  for 
a  task  of  this  dimension.  From  the  end  of  the  fol- 
lowing year,  the  direction  of  the  enterprise  passed 
entirely  into  the  hands  of  Vincent  de  Paul,  who  led 
with  him  his  army  of  sisters  of  charity,  his  mission 
priests,  and  an  entire  contingent  of  allies,  secret  but 
absolutely  devoted. 

It  does  not  seem  as  if  at  first  there  was  any  con- 
flict. Mme.  de  Lamoignon  and  the  Presidente  de 
Herse  were  the  right  arms  of  M.  Vincent  as  they 
had  been  of  M.  de  Bernieres.  When  the  Queen 
of  Poland,1  a  spiritual  daughter  of  Port-Royal  and 
brought  up  in  France,  wished  to  subscribe  to  the 
work,  she  sent  her  money  to  the  Mother  Angel- 
ique,  telling  her  to  communicate  with  M.  Vincent. 
But  this  harmony  was  of  short  duration.  The 
members  of  what  the  public  were  going  to  baptise 
with  the  sobriquet  of  "  Cabale  des  Devots,"  not  be- 
ing able  to  discover  the  real  name,  could  not  suffer 
the  Janseniste  concurrence  in  charitable  works. 
They  showered  upon  M.  de  Bernieres  a  mass  of 
odious  calumnies  and  denunciations  which  resulted 
in  the  exile  of  this  good  man. 

This  was  one  of  the  most  abominable  of  the  bad 
actions  to  which  a  sectarian  spirit  has  pushed 
human  beings. 

The  "  Relations  "  were  continued  under  the  direc- 

1  Marie  de  Gonzague. 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  89 

tion  of  Vincent  de  Paul.  One  knows  through 
them  and  through  the  documents  of  the  time,  the 
details  of  the  task  undertaken.  The  first  necessity 
for  the  public  health  was  the  clearing  the  surface  of 
the  ground,  in  the  provinces  in  which  there  had 
been  fighting,  of  the  putrifying  bodies,  and  of  the 
filthiness  left  by  the  armies.  There  was  one  village 
from  which  such  an  odour  exhaled  that  no  one  would 
approach  it.  A  "  Relation  "  of  1652  describes  in 
these  terms  the  environs  of  Paris  : 

At  Etrechy,  the  living  are  mingled  with  the  dead,  and  the 
country  is  full  of  the  latter.  At  Villeneuve-Saint-Georges, 
Crosne,  Limay,  one  hundred  and  seventy-four  ill  people  were 
found  in  the  last  extremity,  with  neither  beds,  clothes,  nor 
bread. 

It  was  necessary  to  commence  by  taking  away  the  seeds  of 
infection  which  increased  the  maladies,  by  interring  the 
corpses  of  men,  of  dead  horses  and  cattle,  and  removing  the 
heaps  of  dirt  which  the  armies  had  left  behind.  The  cleansing 
of  the  soil  was  the  specialty  of  M.  Vincent  and  one  of  his 
most  signal  benefits.  He  employed  for  this  work  his  mission 
priests  and  his  sisters  of  charity.  The  missionaries  placed 
themselves  at  the  head  of  the  workmen,  the  sisters  sought  the 
abandoned  sick.  Cloth  and  cap  died  at  need  "  the  arms  in  the 
hand,"  said  their  chief,  but  their  work  was  good;  and  finally 
the  work  was  taken  hold  of  in  the  right  way. 

After  the  dead  the  living  : 

The  cure  of  Boult '  [reports  another  "  Relation  "]  assures  us 
that  he  buried  three  of  his  parishioners  dead  from  hunger  ;  oth- 
ers were  living  only  upon  cut-up  straw  mixed  with  earth,  of 
which  was  composed  a  food  called  bread.  Five  tainted  and 

1  En  Picardie. 


90  Louis  XIV.  and 

decaying  horses  were  devoured  ;  an  old  man  aged  seventy- 
five  years  had  entered  the  presbytery  to  roast  a  piece  of  horse- 
flesh, the  animal  having  died  of  scab  fifteen  days  previously, 
was  infected  with  worms,  and  had  been  found  cast  into  a  foul 
ditch.  ...  At  Saint-Quentin,  in  the  faubourgs,  in  which 
the  houses  had  been  demolished,  the  missionaries  discovered 
the  last  inhabitants  in  miserable  huts,  "  in  each  of  which," 
wrote  one  of  them,  "  I  found  one  or  two  sick,  in  one  single 
hut  ten  ;  two  widows,  each  having  four  children,  slept  together 
on  the  ground,  having  nothing  whatever,  not  even  a  sheet." 
Another  Ecclesiastic,  in  his  visit,  having  met  with  many  closed 
doors,  upon  forcing  them  open  discovered  that  the  sick  were 
too  feeble  to  open  them  having  eaten  nothing  during  two 
days,  and  having  beneath  them  only  a  little  half  rotten 
straw;  the  number  of  these  poor  was  so  great  that  without 
succour  from  Paris,  the  citizens  under  the  apprehension  of  a 
siege,  not  being  able  to  nourish  them,  had  resolved  to  cast 
them  over  the  walls. 

Millions  were  needed  to  relieve  such  distress, 
but  Vincent  de  Paul  and  his  associates  had  a  better 
dream  ;  they  wished  to  put  these  dying  popula- 
tions in  a  condition  to  work  again  and  to  under- 
take the  reparation  of  the  ruins  themselves.  The 
enterprise  was  organised  in  spite  of  obstacles 
which  appeared  insurmountable,  the  exhaustion  of 
France  and  the  difficulty  of  communication  being 
the  principal.  The  Parisians  raised  enormous 
sums  and  sent  gifts  of  all  kinds  of  materials,  and 
found  the  means  of  transporting  provisions.  The 
committee  divided  the  environs  of  Paris ;  Mme. 
Joly  took  the  care  of  one  village  ;  the  Presidente  de 
Nesmond,  four  villages  ;  and  so  on.  Missionaries 
were  sent  outside  the  boundaries.  One  of  the 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  91 

later  biographers  of  Vincent  de  Paul l  values  at 
twelve  millions  of  francs,  at  this  date  worth  about 
sixty  millions,  the  sums  distributed,  without  count- 
ing money  spent  directly  for  the  work  of  piety  nor 
for  the  support  of  those  engaged  in  it.  However 
this  may  be,  this  latter  body  certainly  consumed  a 
large  portion.  The  immensity  of  the  enterprise, 
and  its  apparent  boldness,  gives  us  an  idea  of  the 
wealth  and  power  of  the  middle  classes  of  the 
seventeenth  century.  After  Vincent  de  Paul  and 
M.  de  Bernieres,  the  honour  for  this  work  of  re- 
lief belongs  to  the  parliamentary  world  and  the 
Parisian  bourgeosie  ;  the  aristocracy  only  playing  a 
very  secondary  r6le.  The  middle  classes  provided 
for  this  enormous  effort,  at  a  period  in  which  all 
revenues  failed  at  once.  We  are  told  that  many 
were  forced  to  borrow,  that  others  sold  their 
jewels  and  articles  of  silver ;  still  this  supposes 
luxury  and  credit.  In  one  way  or  another,  the  citi- 
zen was  in  a  position  to  give,  while  the  small  noble 
of  Lorraine  or  of  Beauce  was  obliged  to  receive ; 
and  this  emphasises  an  historic  lesson.  Gentlemen 
as  well  as  peasants  lacked  bread.  After  remaining 
two  days  without  eating,  one  is  ready  to  accept 
alms  ;  at  the  end  of  three  days,  to  demand  them  on 
account  of  the  children.  The  decadence  of  the 
one  class,  the  ascension  of  the  other  until  their 
turn  comes ;  it  has  always  been  the  same  since  the 
world  began. 

One  last  detail,  and  perhaps  the  most  significant : 

1  M.  Emanuel  de  Broglie. 


92  Louis  XIV.  and 

There  is  no  reference  in  the  Memoirs  of  the  times * 
to  the  principal  work  of  Vincent  de  Paul.  Their 
authors  would  have  made  it  a  matter  of  conscience 
not  to  forget  a  Court  intrigue  or  a  scandalous  ad- 
venture ;  but  what  can  be  interesting  in  people  who 
are  naked  and  hungry  ?  One  avoids  speaking  of 
them.  It  is  even  better  not  to  think  of  them.  In 
1652,  the  year  in  which  poverty  was  at  its  height 
in  oppressed  Paris,  the  Mother  Angelique  wrote 
from  Port-Royal,  to  the  Queen  of  Poland  (June 
28th): 

With  the  exception  of  the  few  actually  engaged  in  charity, 
the  rest  of  the  world  live  in  as  much  luxury  as  ever.  The 
Court  and  the  Tuileries  are  as  thronged  as  ever,  colla- 
tions and  the  rest  of  the  superfluities  go  on  as  always.  Paris 
amuses  itself  with  the  same  fury  as  if  its  streets  were  not 
filled  with  frightful  spectacles.  And,  what  is  more  horrible, 
fashion  will  not  suffer  the  priests  to  preach  penitence  (Letter 
of  July  i2th). 

The  lack  of  pity  for  the  poor  was  almost  general 
among  the  so-called  higher  classes.  There  is  no 
need  of  too  carefully  inquiring  as  to  what  is  pass- 
ing in  hovels. 

Vincent  de  Paul  and  his  allies  struggled  six 
years.  Not  once  did  the  government  come  to 
their  aid,  and  the  war  always  continued ;  for  one 
ruin  relieved,  the  armies  made  ten  others.  The 

1  Saul  in  the  Journal  desguerres  civiles  de  Dubuisson-Aubenay.  He  men- 
tions the  date  of  December  2,  1650,  upon  which  "  large  donations  "  were 
sent  into  Champagne,  by  Mmes.  de  Lamoignon  and  de  Herse,  Messieurs 
de  Bernieres,  Lenain,  etc. 


La  Grande  Mademoiseile  93 

group  of  the  "good  souls"  who  had  made  these 
prodigious  sacrifices  was  at  length  used  up,  as  one 
might  say,  and  was  never  reinforced,  in  spite  of 
the  inexhaustible  source  of  devotion  offered  by  the 
Compagnie  du  Saint-Sacrement.  This  body  had 
been  composed  of  men  and  women  so  excep- 
tional in  character,  as  well  as  in  intelligence,  that 
its  ranks,  emptied  by  death,  and  by  the  exhaustion 
of  means  and  courage,  could  not  be  filled  up.  In 
1655,  the  receipts  of  the  committee  were  visibly 
diminished.  Two  years  later,  the  resources  were 
entirely  exhausted  and  the  work  of  relief  remained 
unfinished. 

It  was  well  that  it  was  attempted ;  a  leven 
of  good  has  remained  from  it  in  the  national 
soul. 

The  actual  benefits  however,  were  promptly 
effaced  ;  the  famine  of  1659  to  1662,  especially  in 
the  latter  year,  counts  amongst  the  most  frightful 
of  the  qentury,  perhaps  in  our  entire  history.  The 
excess  of  material  poverty  engendered  immense 
moral  misery,  particularly  in  the  large  cities,  in 
which  luxury  stood  side  by  side  with  the  most 
frightful  conditions,  and  Paris  became  both  excit- 
able and  evil,  as  always  when  it  suffers. 

The  Carnival  of  1660  was  the  most  noisy  and 
disorderly  which  old  Parisians  had  ever  known. 
Great  and  small  sought  amusement  with  a  kind  of 
rage,  and  dissensions  and  quarrels  abounded  from 
the  top  to  the  bottom  of  the  social  scale.  Public 
places  were  noisy  with  riots  and  affrays.  During 


94  Louis  XIV.  and 

the  nights,  masks  were  masters  of  the  streets,  and 
as  has  been  seen  above,  no  security  existed  with 
these  composite  crowds,  which  stole  candles  from 
the  houses  into  which  they  had  surged. 

One  ball  alone  received  in  a  single  evening  the 
visit  of  sixty-five  masks,  who  ran  through  the  city 
three  nights  in  succession.  These  hysterics  in  Paris, 
while  France  was  dying  with  hunger,  are  so  much 
the  more  striking,  inasmuch  as  the  Court  was  not 
there  to  communicate  to  the  outer  world  its  eternal 
need  of  agitation  and  amusement.  Louis  XIV. 
spent  a  large  portion  of  these  critical  years  in  jour- 
neying through  his  kingdom.  One  of  the  first 
journeys,  lasting  from  October  27th  to  the  follow- 
ing January  27th,  had  for  its  end  the  meeting  of 
the  Princess  of  Savoie  at  Lyons.  There  had  been 
some  question  of  marrying  this  Princess  to  the 
young  King.  On  passing  to  Dijon,  the  Court 
stopped  more  than  fifteen  days.  Mademoiselle 
tells  us  the  reason  for  this  delay ;  it  is  not  very 
glorious  for  royalty.  The  Parliament  of  Dijon 
refused  to  register  certain  edicts  which  aggravated 
the  burdens  of  the  province.  Le  Tellier,  "  on  the 
part  of  the  King,"  promised  that  there  should  be  no 
more  difficulty  if  the  states  of  Bourgogne  would 
bring  their  subsidy  to  a  sum  which  was  indicated. 
"  Upon  which  they  agreed  to  what  was  de- 
manded and  presented  themselves  to  account  to 
the  King." 

Upon  the  next  day,  with  a  cynical  contempt  for 
the  royal  promise,  "  Her  Majesty  went  to  the  Dijon 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  95 

Parliament  to  register  the  deeds."1  Mademoiselle 
had  the  curiosity  to  be  present  at  the  session.  The 
first  president  did  the  only  thing  in  his  power. 
He  courageously  expressed  his  "regrets"  and  was 
praised  by  all  those  who  heard  him. 

The  Court  hastily  departed  the  following  day, 
leaving  Dijon  and  the  entire  province  "  in  a  certain 
consternation."  Mademoiselle  blamed  only  .  the 
manner  of  action.  At  the  bottom  of  her  heart, 
she  had  the  belief  of  her  times  :  that  the  sovereign 
owed  only  control  to  his  people,  and  that  there  was 
no  question  of  giving  them  happiness. 

Some  weeks  after  the  incident  at  Lyons,  the 
vicinity  of  the  principality  of  Dombes  2  gave  her 
the  desire  to  visit  this  place,  which  she  had  never 
seen.  Dombes  did  not  pay  any  impost  to  the  King, 
and  this  fact  alone  sufficed  to  render  it  prosperous. 
Mademoiselle  was  scandalised  at  this  prosperity. 
The  peasants  were  well  clothed,  "  they  ate  meat 
four  times  a  day,"  and  there  were  "no  really  poor 
people "  in  the  country  ;  "  also,"  pursued  Made- 
moiselle, "  they,  up  to  this  time,  have  paid  no 
duties,  and  it  would  perhaps  be  better  that  they 
should  do  so,  for  they  are  do-nothings,  taking  no 
interest  in  either  work  or  trade." 

The  people  had  left  everything  and  dressed 
themselves  in  their  fine  clothes  to  receive  Made- 

1  The  Parliament  of  Dijon  had  a  bad  reputation  with  the  ministers,  who 
accused  it  of  refusing  all  reform.  This  does  not  excuse  such  a  lack  of  good 
faith. 

8  Dombes  was  a  small  independent  principality  which  had  only  been 
definitely  united  to  France  on  March  28,  1782  ;  its  capital  was  Trevoux. 


96  Louis  XIV.  and 

moiselle.  In  order  to  thank  them,  Mademoiselle 
drew  from  them  all  the  money  she  could.  It  is 
necessary  to  recollect,  however,  that  in  the  eyes  of 
the  great,  even  those  of  the  better  sort,  a  peasant 
was  hardly  a  man.  It  would  hardly  be  worth  while 
for  us  to  be  indignant  at  this  attitude.  We  now 
admit  that  the  so-called  superior  races  have  the 
right  to  exploit  those  considered  inferior,  and  thus 
at  need  destroy  them.  It  was  the  habit  of  our 
fathers  to  treat  a  lower  class  as  to-day  we  treat 
a  less  advanced  race ;  the  sentiment  is  precisely 
the  same. 

Upon  her  return  from  Dombes,  Mademoiselle 
found  the  Court  again  at  Lyons.  Every  one  was  all 
eyes  and  ears  for  a  spectacle  which  might  derange 
the  admitted  ideas  of  kings.  Marie  Mancini  was 
trying  to  make  Louis  XIV.  marry  her,  and  the  at- 
tempt had  not  so  absurd  an  air  as  might  be  imagined. 
The  Savoie  project  had  failed  under  painful  con- 
ditions, which  gave  subject  of  thought  to  the  cour- 
tiers. The  King  had  conducted  himself  like  an 
ill-bred  man  to  the  Princess  Marguerite. 

People  were  demanding  whether  the  Spanish 
marriage  was  also  going  to  fail,  and  with  it  the  so 
greatly  desired  peace,  because  it  pleased  two  lovers, 
one  of  whom  ought  not  to  have  forgotten  his  kingly 
duties,  to  proclaim  the  sovereign  rights  of  passion. 
Anne  of  Austria  became  uneasy.  Mazarin,  yield- 
ing to  temptation,  left  the  field  to  his  niece, 
who  "  took  possession  "  of  the  young  King  with 
looks  and  speech.  She  fascinated  him,  and  he 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  97 

swore  all  that  she  wished.  The  contest  was  not  an 
equal  one  between  the  passionate  Italian  and  the 
timid  and  somewhat  unformed  Louis  XIV. 

On  his  return  from  Lyons,  Louis  knelt  down 
before  his  mother  and  Mazarin,  supplicating  them 
to  permit  him  to  marry  the  one  he  loved.  He 
found  them  inflexible.  The  Queen  realised  that 
such  a  mesalliance  would  cast  disrepute  on  royalty. 
The  Cardinal  was  torn  by  conflicting  emotions,  but 
in  the  end  sent  away  his  niece. 

A  second  journey  lasted  more  than  a  year.  The 
Court  set  out  on  June  29,  1659,  an<^  passed  through 
Blois.  It  stopped  with  Gaston.  We  owe  to  the 
Mtmoires  of  Mademoiselle  a  last  glimpse  of  this 
Prince,  formerly  so  brilliant,  now  become  a  lazy 
good-for-nothing  in  his  provincial  life,  where  no- 
thing of  Parisian  fashion  was  found ;  neither  toi- 
lettes nor  cooking,  nor  household  elegance,  nor  even 
Monsieur  himself,  who  no  longer  knew  how  to  re- 
ceive, and  was  vexed  that  the  King  should  kill  his 
pheasants.  He  permitted  it  to  be  seen  that  he 
was  put  out,  and  this  became  so  plain  that  every 
one  was  eager  to  depart,  and  there  was  a  sudden 
scattering. 

The  eldest  of  his  daughters  by  his  last  marriage, 
Marguerite  D'Orleans,  had  a  great  reputation  for 
beauty.  Her  parents  had  for  a  long  time  antici- 
pated seeing  her  Queen  of  France. 

On  the  night  of  the  King's  arrival  at  Blois,  this 
damsel  was  disfigured  with  mosquito  bites.  Her 
dancing  was  much  extolled,  but  on  this  special 


98  Louis  XIV.  and 

evening,  she  danced  very  badly.  Gaston  had  an- 
nounced that  this  little  girl  of  ten  "  would  astonish 
every  one  with  her  brilliant  conversation."  No  one 
could  draw  a  single  word  from  her.  In  short, 
nothing  succeeded.  Mademoiselle  was  not  espe- 
cially vexed  at  this  failure  ;  she  had  trembled  at  the 
thought  of  seeing  her  younger  sister  "  above  her." 

Hardly  had  the  Court  remounted  their  carriages, 
before  the  royal  cavalcade,  according  to  the  uni- 
versal custom,  commenced  to  mock  its  hosts.  The 
King  joked  at  the  sight  of  his  uncle's  face  on  see- 
ing the  pheasants  fall  dead.  Mademoiselle  laughed 
with  the  others.  She  had,  however,  been  moved 
by  a  tender  scene  played  by  her  father. 

He  had  come  to  awaken  her  at  four  o'clock  in 
the  morning : 

He  seated  himself  on  my  bed  and  said:  "  I  believe  that  you 
will  not  be  vexed  at  being  waked  since  I  shall  not  soon  have 
the  chance  of  again  seeing  you.  You  are  going  to  take  a  long 
journey.  I  am  old,  exhausted;  I  may  die  during  your  absence. 
If  I  do  die,  I  recommend  your  sisters  to  you.  I  know  very 
well  that  you  do  not  love  Madame:  that  her  behaviour  towards 
you  has  not  been  all  it  should  be;  but  her  children  have  had 
nothing  to  do  with  this,  for  my  sake  take  care  of  them.  They 
will  have  need  of  you;  as  for  Madame,  she  will  be  of  little 
help  to  them." 

He  embraced  me  three  or  four  times.  I  received  all  this 
with  much  tenderness;  for  I  have  a  good  heart.  We  separated 
on  the  best  terms,  and  I  went  again  to  sleep. 

Mademoiselle  believed  that  at  length  they  again 
loved  each  other.  Six  weeks  later  a  scandal  broke 
out  at  the  Court  of  France,  then  at  Bordeaux 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  99 

The  Due  de  Savoie  had  refused  to  marry  the 
Princess  Marguerite  d'Orleans,  and  Mademoiselle 
was  accused  of  having  secretly  written  to  him  that 
her  sister  was  a  humpback.  The  accusation  came 
from  Gaston  himself,  who  said  that  he  had  proof  of 
it.  This  was  a  most  disagreeable  incident  for  Made- 
moiselle and  further  illusion  was  impossible  ;  Gas- 
ton  was  always  Gaston,  the  most  dangerous  man 
in  France. 

From  Bordeaux,  the  Court  went  to  Toulouse  ; 
there  it  was  rejoined  by  Mazarin,  who  had  just 
signed  the  peace  of  the  Pyrenees  (November  7, 


All  histories  give  the  articles  of  this  peace.  The 
results  for  Europe  have  been  summed  up  in  some 
brilliant  lines  written  by  the  great  German  his- 
torian, Leopold  Ranke,  who  had  been  struck  with 
the  advantages  which  this  treaty  gave  France  over 
Germany  : 

If  it  were  necessary  to  characterise  in  a  general  fashion  the 
results  of  this  peace  .  .  .  we  would  say  that  the  import- 
ance of  the  treaty  consisted  in  the  formation  and  extension  of 
the  great  (geographically)  military  system  of  the  French  mon- 
archy. On  all  sides,  to  the  Pyrenees,  to  the  Alps,  above  all, 
to  the  frontiers  of  the  German  Empire  and  of  the  Netherlands, 
France  acquired  new  fortified  points  .  .  .  many  positions 
as  important  for  defence  as  favourable  for  attack.  The  posi- 
tion of  France  upon  the  upper  Rhine,  which  it  owes  to  the 
peace  of  Westphalia,  received  by  this  new  treaty  its  greatest 
extension.1 

Mazarin  found  that  he  had  done  well  in  himself 

1  Histoire  de  France.     Tr.  by  Jacques  Porchat  and  Miot.     Paris,  1886. 


ioo  Louis  XIV.  and 

following  the  campaigning  armies.  He  knew  the 
military  importance  of  most  of  the  places.  The 
Spanish  negotiator  could  not  have  said  as  much. 
In  the  interior,  the  first  comer  could  easily  compre- 
hend the  political  benefits  of  a  treaty  which  should 
as  far  as  possible  abolish  the  past.  Conde  had 
been  included  in  the  terms  of  the  peace  and  re- 
turned to  France,  well  resolved  to  keep  quiet.  He 
rejoined  the  Court  at  Aix,  January  27,  1660,  and 
found  there  was  a  certain  curiosity  exhibited  as  to 
how  he  would  be  received. 

Mademoiselle  hastened  to  Anne  of  Austria : 
"  My  niece,"  said  the  Queen  to  her,  "  return  to 
your  own  dwelling ;  M.  le  Prince  has  especially 
asked  that  I  should  be  absolutely  alone  when  I 
first  receive  him." 

I  began  to  smile  with  vexation,  but  said:  "I  am  nobody; 
I  believe  that  M.  le  Prince  will  be  very  astonished  if  he  does 
not  find  me  here."  The  Queen  insisted  in  a  very  sharp  tone; 
I  went  away  resolved  to  complain  to  M.  le  Cardinal;  this  I 
did  on  the  following  day,  saying  that  if  such  a  thing  happened 
again,  I  should  leave  the  Court.  He  made  many  excuses. 
This  was  Mazarin's  system.  He  poured  forth  explanations 
but  in  no  way  changed  his  methods  in  the  future. 

It  is  known  that  M.  le  Prince  demanded  pardon 
on  his  knees,  and  that  he  found  before  him  in 
Louis  XIV.  a  judge  grave  and  cold,  who  held  him- 
self "very  straight."1  To  fight  against  the  King 
was  decidedly  no  more  to  be  considered  a  joke  ;  it 

1  Mtmoires  de  Montglat ;  M  ^moires  de  Mme.  de  Motteville. 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  101 

could  not  be  overlooked,  even  if  one  were  the  con- 
queror of  Rocroy. 

Mademoiselle  did  not  succeed  in  comprehending 
the  real  situation.  Conde,  surprised  and  deceived, 
felt  his  way.  One  evening  at  a  dance,  when  talking 
with  Mademoiselle,  the  King  joined  them.  The 
conversation  fell  upon  the  Fronde.  On  the  part  of 
a  man  of  as  much  esprit  as  M.  le  Prince,  one  can 
well  believe  that  this  was  not  by  chance :  "  The 
war  was  much  spoken  of,"  relates  Mademoiselle, 
"and  we  joked  at  all  the  follies  of  which  we  had 
been  guilty,  the  King  with  the  best  grace  in  the 
world  joining  in  these  pleasantries.  Although  I 
was  suffering  with  a  severe  headache,  I  was  not  in 
the  least  bored."  Mademoiselle  had  laughed  with- 
out any  second  thoughts.  Conde,  clearer  sighted, 
trembled  during  the  remainder  of  his  days,  before 
this  monarch  so  capable  of  dissimulation,  and  so 
perfectly  master  of  himself. 

Almost  at  the  same  moment  there  expired  another 
of  those  belated  feudal  ideas,  which  neither  royalty 
nor  manners  could  any  longer  suffer  among  the 
nobility.  Gaston  d'Orleans  died  at  Blois,  Feb- 
ruary 2nd,1  his  death  being  caused  by  an  attack  of 
apoplexy.  They  had  heard  him  murmur  from  his 
bed  regarding  his  wife  and  children,  Domus  mea 
domus  desolationis  vocabitur  ("  My  house  will  be 
called  the  House  of  Desolation").  He  spoke  bet- 
ter than  he  knew.  Madame  surpassed  herself  in 

1  The  ball  took  place  on  the  3rd.     Several  days  elapsed  before  the  news  of 
the  death  reached  Aix. 


102  Louis  XIV.  and 

blunders,  and  still  more.  She  went  to  dinner  while 
her  husband  was  receiving  the  last  unction,  sent 
away  the  servants  of  Monsieur  immediately  after 
the  final  sigh,  locked  up  everything,  and  concerned 
herself  no  more.  Her  women  refused  a  sheet  in 
which  to  wrap  the  body ;  it  was  necessary  to  beg 
one  from  the  ladies  of  the  Court.  Some  priests 
came  to  sit  up  with  the  dead,  but  finding  neither 
"  light  nor  fire "  they  returned,  and  the  corpse 
remained  alone,  more  completely  abandoned  than 
had  been  that  of  his  brother,  the  King,  Louis  XIII. 
The  body  was  borne  without  "  pomp  or  expense  " 1 
to  Saint-Denis,  and  the  widow  hastened  to  Paris,  to 
take  possession  of  the  Palace  of  the  Luxembourg, 
in  the  absence  of  Mademoiselle. 

The  Court  did  not  take  the  trouble  to  feign 
regrets.  The  King  gave  the  tone  in  saying  to  his 
cousin,  gaily,  after  the  first  formal  compliments  : 
"  You  will  see  my  brother  to-morrow  in  a  training 
mantle.  I  believe  that  he  is  delighted  at  the  news 
of  your  father's  death.  He  believes  that  he  is  heir 
to  all  his  belongings  and  state ;  he  can  talk  of 
nothing  else  ;  but  he  must  wait  awhile." 

Anne  of  Austria  heard  this,  and  smiled.  "  It  is 
true,"  pursues  Mademoiselle,  "that  Monsieur  ap- 
peared the  next  day  in  a  wonderful  mantle."  Ma- 
demoiselle had  great  difficulty  in  keeping  her  own 
countenance.  Her  grief  was,  however,  very  real, 
notwithstanding  the  past,  or  rather,  perhaps,  on 
account  of  what  had  gone  before ;  it  was,  however, 

1  MJmoires  of  Mademoiselle. 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  103 

only  an  impulse  affected  by  the  impression  of  the 
moment.  She  exhibited  this  sorrow  a  little  too 
effectively : 

I  wished  to  wear  the  most  formal  and  deepest  mourning. 
Every  one  of  my  household  was  clad  in  black,  even  to  the 
cooks,  the  servants,  and  the  valets;  the  coverings  of  the  mules, 
all  the  caparisons  of  my  horses  and  of  the  other  beasts  of 
burden.  Nothing  could  be  more  beautiful  the  first  time  we 
marched  than  to  see  this  grand  train,  expressive  of  grief.  It 
had  an  air  very  magnificent  and  of  real  grandeur.  Every- 
body says  how  much  wealth  she  must  possess! 

The  mules'  mourning  is  well  worth  the  training 
mantle  of  the  little  Monsieur.  This  magnificent 
funeral  pomp  had  the  one  inconvenience  of  re- 
calling to  all  comers  that  Mademoiselle  must  resign 
other  pleasures.  At  the  end  of  some  weeks,  she 
would  have  willingly  resumed  her  share  in  Court 
gaieties  ;  Anne  of  Austria  kindly  commanded  her  to 
return  to  life. 

The  summer  was,  however,  approaching.  The 
Court  continued  to  drag  itself  from  city  to  city, 
waiting  until  it  should  please  the  King  of  Spain  to 
bring  his  daughter,  and  the  time  seemed  long. 
Mazarin  shut  himself  up  to  work.  Louis  drilled 
the  soldiers  of  his  guard.  The  Queen  Mother  spent 
long  days  in  convents.  Mademoiselle  wrote,  or 
worked  tapestry.  A  large  number  of  the  courtiers, 
no  longer  able  to  stand  the  ennui,  had  returned  to 
Paris  ;  those  who  remained,  lived  lives  of  complete 
idleness.  The  King  had  at  this  time  a  fine  occa- 
sion to  study  the  condition  of  his  provinces ;  but 


104  Louis  XIV.  and 

he  did  not  possess  an  investigating  mind.  He 
spent  long  months  in  front  of  the  Pyrenees,  with- 
out seeking  to  know  anything  of  their  formation, 
showing  an  unusual  indifference  to  knowledge,  even 
for  this  period.  One  of  the  few  persons  who  risked 
themselves  in  the  Pyrenees,  Mme.  de  Motteville, 
relates  her  astonishment  at  discovering  valleys,  tor- 
rents, cultivated  fields,  and  inhabitants.  She  had 
believed  that  she  should  only  find  a  great  wall  of 
rock,  "deserted  and  untilled." 

The  journey  went  on  ;  but  nature  had  not  yet 
the  right  of  entrance  into  literature,  and  society 
spoke  but  rarely  of  its  charms.  Of  the  vast  world, 
only  what  came  directly  under  the  eyes  of  the  indi- 
vidual was  known. 

At  length,  on  June  26.  (1660),  the  Court  of 
France,  "kicking  its  heels"  at  Saint-Jean-de-Luz 
during  an  entire  month,  received  news  of  the  ar- 
rival at  Fontarabia  of  Philip  IV.  and  of  the  Infanta 
Marie  Therese.  The  next  day,  the  marriage 
ceremonies  commenced. 

Six  long  days  and  the  best  intentions  on  both 
sides  were  needed  to  consummate  this  great  affair 
without  offending  etiquette.  The  problem  pre- 
sented was  this :  How  to  marry  the  King  of 
France  with  the  daughter  of  the  King  of  Spain, 
without  permitting  the  King  of  France  to  put  his 
foot  on  Spanish  territory,  nor  the  King  of  Spain 
on  that  belonging  to  France,  and  at  the  same  time 
not  to  allow  the  Infanta  to  quit  her  father  before 
the  ceremony  had  actually  taken  place  ? 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  105 

On  the  side  of  the  French  Court,  whose  discipline 
left  much  to  be  desired,  difficulties  of  detail  arose 
constantly  to  complicate  affairs.  The  little  Mon- 
sieur wept  for  desire  to  go  to  Fontarabia  to  see 
a  Spanish  ceremony ;  but  etiquette  made  it  neces- 
sary to  consider  this  brother  of  the  King  the  pre- 
sent heir  presumptive  to  the  crown,  and,  alleged 
Louis  XIV.,  "  the  heir  presumptive  of  Spain  could 
not  enter  France  to  see  a  ceremony."1 

After  consideration  of  this  point,  the  heir  was  for- 
bidden to  pass  the  frontier.  Then  Mademoiselle 
arrived,  who  wished  to  be  of  the  party.  She  repre- 
sented that  the  order  was  not  applicable  to  her,  and 
cited  the  Salic  law  which  gave  her  the  right  to  tra- 
verse the  Bidassoa :  "  I  do  not  inherit/'  said  she  ;  "  I 
should  have  some  compensation.  Since  daughters 
are  of  no  value  in  France,  they  should  at  least  be 
permitted  to  enjoy  spectacles." 

Mazarin  convoked  the  ministers  to  submit  this 
argument.  The  discussion  lasted  "  three  or  four 
hours."  Finally,  Mademoiselle  gained  her  cause, 
although  the  King  himself  was  rather  against  her. 
The  important  question  of  " trains"  gave  also  some 
embarrassment  to  the  Cardinal.  A  duke  had  of- 
fered to  bear  the  train  of  Mademoiselle  in  the 
nuptial  cortege.  Mazarin  was  obliged  to  seek  two 
other  dukes  for  the  younger  sisters  of  Made- 
moiselle, two  children  whom  the  lady  of  honour  of 
their  mother  had  led  to  the  marriage.  He  could 
only  find  a  marquis  and  a  count ;  the  dukes  hid 

1  MJmoires  of  Mademoiselle. 


106  Louis  XIV.  and 

themselves.  The  lady  of  honour  uttered  loud  pro- 
tests ;  "  her  Princesses  must  have  *  tail-bearers '  as 
titled  as  those  of  their  tall  sister,  or  they  should 
not  go  at  all."  "  I  will  do  what  I  can,"  replied  the 
Cardinal ;  "  but  no  one  wishes  the  task." 

Mademoiselle  had  the  good  grace  to  sacrifice  her 
duke,  and  Mazarin  believed  the  affair  terminated, 
when  the  Princess  Palatine1  caused  a  novel  inci- 
dent, upon  the  day  of  the  ceremony,  and  even 
when  the  last  moment  was  approaching.  She  ap- 
peared in  the  Queen's  chamber,  wearing  a  train,  to 
which,  being  a  foreign  Princess,  she  had  no  right. 
La  Palatine  had  counted  upon  the  general  con- 
fusion to  smuggle  herself  in  and  to  create  a  prece- 
dent. It  was  needful  to  delay  matters.  The  train 
had  been  reported  to  Mademoiselle,  and  no  mar- 
riage should  prevent  her  protest.  The  Cardinal 
and  after  him  the  King  were  forced  to  listen  to  a 
discourse  upon  the  limitations  of  foreign  princesses. 
"  I  believe,"  writes  Mademoiselle,  "  that  I  was  very 
eloquent."  She  proved  herself  at  least  very  con- 
vincing, for  La  Palatine  received  the  order  to  take 
off  her  train. 

But  it  is  necessary  to  retrace  our  steps  ;  trains  have 
carried  us  too  far.  The  relations  between  the  two 
monarchs  had  been  regulated  with  a  minutia  worthy 
of  Asiatic  courts.  They  met  only  in  a  hall,  built  ex- 
pressly for  the  purpose  upon  the  Isle  des  Faisans, 
and  on  horseback  upon  the  frontier.  The  building 
was  half  in  French,  half  in  Spanish  territory.  The 

1  Anne  de  Gonzague. 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  107 

decorations  of  the  two  sides  were  different.  Louis 
XIV.  must  walk  upon  French  carpets,  Philip  IV. 
upon  Spanish  ones.  The  one  must  only  sit  upon 
a  French  chair,  write  only  upon  a  French  table 
with  French  ink,  seek  the  time  only  from  a  French 
clock,  placed  in  his  half  of  the  hall ;  the  other 
guarded  himself  with  the  same  care  from  every 
object  not  Spanish.  Two  opposite  doors  gave 
passage  at  precisely  the  same  instant.  An  equal 
number  of  steps  led  them  to  the  place  where  the 
red  carpet  of  France  joined  the  gold  and  silver  one 
of  Spain  ;  and  the  two  Kings  addressed  each  other 
and  embraced  over  the  frontier.  Thus  demanded 
the  laws  of  ceremonial  monarchy.  Their  rigour 
commenced  to  astonish  the  good  people  of  France. 
The  interviews  upon  the  Isle  des  Faisans  became 
legendary.  La  Fontaine  has  alluded  to  them  in 
one  of  his  last  fables,  Les  Deux  Ch&vres?  in  which 
he  has  found  no  better  comparison  for  the 
solemnity  with  which  the  two  goats,  equally 
"  tainted "  with  their  rank,  equally  curbed,  ad- 
vanced towards  each  other  upon  the  fragile  and 
narrow  bridge. 

Je  m'imagine  voir,  avec  Louis  le  Grand, 
Philippe  quatre  qui  s'avance 
Dans  1'isle  de  la  Conference  * 

Ainsi  s'avangaient  pas  a  pas, 

Nez  a  nez,  nos  aventurieres. 

1  This  appeared  in  1691. 

*  Isle  des  Faisans  was  also  called  Isle  de  la  Conference,  since  Mazarin  had 
there  discussed  the  treaty  of  the  Pyrenees  with  Luis  de  Haro. 


io8  Louis  XIV.  and 

When  all  was  arranged,  on  June  3rd,  neither  the 
bride  and  bridegroom  nor  their  parents  having  seen 
each  other,  the  King  of  France,  represented  by 
Don  Luis  de  Haro,  was  married  by  proxy  in  the 
church  of  Fontarabia  to  the  Infanta  Marie-Therese. 

This  was  the  expedient  which  saved  the  dignity 
of  the  two  crowns.  After  the  ceremony,  the  new 
Queen  returned  to  her  father.  She  wrote  the  next 
day  a  letter  of  official  compliment  to  her  husband. 
We  possess  the  response  of  Louis  XIV.,  in  which 
he  has  well  performed  a  somewhat  difficult  task. 

SAINT-JEAN-DE-LUZ,  June  4,  1660. 

To  receive  at  the  same  time  a  letter  from  your  Majesty, 
and  the  news  of  the  celebration  of  our  marriage,  and  to  be  on 
the  eve  of  seeing  you,  these  are  assuredly  causes  of  indelible 
joy  for  me. 

My  cousin,  the  Duke  of  Crequi,  first  gentleman  of  my 
chamber,  whom  I  am  sending  expressly  to  your  Majesty,  will 
communicate  to  you  the  sentiments  of  my  heart,  in  which  you 
will  remark  always  increasingly  an  extreme  impatience  to 
convey  these  sentiments  in  person. 

He  will  also  present  to  you  some  trifles  on  my  part. 

The  same  day,  in  the  afternoon,  Anne  of  Austria 
met  for  the  first  time  with  her  brother  and  niece 
together.  The  interview  took  place  in  the  hall 
of  the  Isle  des  Faisans.  Philip  IV.  astonished  the 
French,  decidedly  less  bound  up  in  tradition  than 
the  Spanish.  Philip  dwelt  so  immobile  in  his  gravity 
that  one  would  have  hardly  taken  him  for  a  living 


man.1 


1  Mdmoires  de  Montglat. 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  109 

Anne  of  Austria  wishing  to  embrace  her  brother, 
whom  she  had  not  seen  for  forty-five  years,  he 
decided  to  make  a  movement,  but  it  was  only  "  to 
withdraw  his  head  so  far  that  she  could  not  catch 
it." 1  The  Queen  Mother  had  forgotten  the  customs 
of  her  own  land.  To  embrace  in  Spain  was  not  to 
kiss  ;  it  only  consisted  in  giving  a  greeting  without 
touching  the  lips,  as  we  see  done  at  the  Comedie 
Frangaise  by  personages  of  the  classic  repertoire. 
Kissing  was,  as  we  read  in  Moliere  only  permitted 
in  certain  rare  cases.  In  the  Malade  Imaginaire, 
Thomas  Diafoirus  consults  his  father  before  kiss- 
ing his  fiancee  :  "  Shall  I  kiss  her  ?  "  "  Yes,"  replies 
M.  Diafoirus. 

The  evening  of  the  interview,  June  4th,  Made- 
moiselle was  curious  to  know  whether  the  King  of 
Spain  had  kissed  the  Queen  Mother.  "  I  asked 
her;  she  told  me  'no';  that  they  had  embraced 
according  to  the  fashion  of  their  own  country." 

How  was  this  strange  fashion  established  at  the 
Court  of  France,  and  from  there  transferred  to  our 
theatres  ?  Was  it  after  the  marriage  of  Louis 
XIV.  ?  I  leave  to  the  amateurs  of  the  theatre 
the  solving  of  this  little  problem  in  dramatic 
history. 

They  brought  a  French  chair  for  the  Queen 
Mother,  a  Spanish  one  for  Philip  IV.,  and  they 
seated  themselves  nearly  "upon  the  line  which 
separated  the  two  kingdoms."2 

Marie-Therese,   Infanta  of  Spain  and  bride  by 

1  Memoir es  de  Mme.  de  Motteville.  *  Ibid. 


no  Louis  XIV.  and 

proxy  of  the  King  of  France,  was  still  to  be  seated. 
Should  this  be  done  in  France  or  Spain  ?  upon  a 
Spanish  or  French  chair  ?  They  brought  one 
Spanish  and  two  French  cushions ;  piled  them 
upon  Spanish  territory,  and  the  young  Queen 
found  herself  seated  in  a  mixed  fashion,  suitable  to 
her  ambiguous  situation. 

Louis  XIV.  did  not  accompany  his  mother.  Eti- 
quette did  not  yet  permit  the  new  couple  to  ad- 
dress a  word  to  each  other.  It  had  been  arranged 
that  the  King  of  France  should  ride  along  the 
banks  of  the  Bidassoa  and  that  the  Infanta  should 
regard  him  from  afar  through  the  window.  A 
romantic  impatience  which  seized  the  husband 
with  longing  to  become  acquainted  with  his  wife 
caused  this  part  of  the  programme  to  fail.  Louis 
XIV.  looked  at  Marie-Therese  through  a  half-open 
door.  They  regarded  each  other  some  seconds, 
and  then  returned,  she  to  Fontarabia,  he  to  Saint- 
Jean-de-Luz. 

On  Sunday,  the  sixth,  they  saw  each  other  offi- 
cially at  the  Isle  des  Faisans.  Affairs  were  but 
little  further  advanced;  Philip  IV.  had  declared 
that  the  Infanta  must  conceal  her  impressions  until 
she  arrived  on  French  territory.  On  the  seventh, 
Anne  of  Austria  brought  her  daughter-in-law  to 
Saint-Jean-de-Luz,  where  the  young  people  could 
at  length  converse  together,  awaiting  the  definite 
celebration  of  the  marriage,  which  took  place  June 
9th  in  the  church  of  Saint- Jean-de-Luz. 

Some  days  later,  the  Court  retook  the  road  to 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  in 

Paris.  Marie-Therese  made  her  solemn  entrance 
into  the  capital,  August  2oth.  The  procession  de- 
parted from  Vincennes.  "  It  was  necessary  to  rise 
at  four  o'clock  in  the  morning,"  reports  Mademoi- 
selle, who  had  a  frightful  sick  headache.  At  five 
o'clock,  every  one  was  in  gala  costume,  and  they 
reached  the  Louvre  at  seven  in  the  evening. 
Mademoiselle  was  at  the  end  of  her  endurance  ;  but 
a  Princess  of  the  blood  had  no  right  to  be  ill  on  the 
day  of  a  Queen's  entrance.  Sometimes  ridiculous 
and  sometimes  ferocious  ;  such  appears  ancient 
etiquette  to  our  democratic  generation.  Monarchs 
formerly  felt  the  value  of  its  services  too  keenly  to 
shrink  from  submitting  to  its  dictates.  They  knew 
that  a  demi-god  never  descends  with  impunity 
from  his  pedestal.  It  is  impossible  to  witness  his 
efforts  at  remounting  without  laughter.  To-day 
the  Princes  themselves  desire  less  etiquette.  The 
monarchical  sentiment  is  not  sufficiently  strong  to 
make  them  willing  to  support  the  ennui  of  cere- 
monial ;  they  are  capable  of  any  sacrifice  of  dignity 
to  escape  it.  We  see  them  resign  to  others  their 
rank  and  privileges  in  the  hope  of  finding  in  obscu- 
rity the  happiness  which  they  have  missed  in  the 
King's  palace. 

The  present  lack  of  form  makes  it  difficult  for 
the  mass  to  take  royalty  seriously,  and  thus  vanish 
together  the  respect  for  formal  courtesies  and  for 
aristocracies.  Louis  XIV.  and  Philip  IV.  in  spite 
of  La  Fontaine,  were  in  the  right  in  attaching  capi- 
tal importance  to  the  placing  their  feet  upon  the 


ii2  Louis  XIV.  and 

right  carpets.  This  precision  of  etiquette  prolonged 
the  existence  of  the  monarchy. 

Life  retook  its  habitual  course  in  the  Palace  of 
the  Louvre.  The  King  was  studying  a  new  ballet. 
Very  few  persons  remarked  that  he  found  time  also 
to  make  long  visits  upon  Mazarin.  The  Cardinal, 
feeling  himself  in  the  clutches  of  death,  was  pre- 
paring his  pupil  for  his  "  great  trade  "  of  sovereign. 
He  made  him  acquainted  with  affairs,  spoke  to 
him  in  confidence  of  the  people  connected  with  the 
administration  of  the  kingdom  ;  discussed  political 
questions,  and  recommended  him  to  have  no  longer 
a  first  minister.1  The  one  thing  which  he  could  not 
yet  resolve  to  do  was  to  permit  the  King  to  give  a 
direct  order.  His  dying  hands  would  not  let  fall  a 
half-crown  or  relax  an  atom  of  authority. 

The  young  Queen  was  astonished  at  the  money 
restrictions  which  had  oppressed  her  since  her  so- 
journ in  France  ;  Mazarin  supervised  her  household 
through  the  intermediary  of  Colbert,  "  who  saved 
upon  everything,"  2  and  he  (Mazarin)  pocketed  the 
savings.  On  New  Year's  day,  he  absorbed  for  him- 
self three-fourths  of  the  gifts  of  Marie-Therese 
The  Queen  Mother  having  shown  some  discontent, 
11  the  poor  Monsieur  the  Cardinal,"  as  she  called 
him,  cried  out  boldly,  "  Alas !  if  she  knew  from 
whence  comes  this  money  and  that  it  is  the  blood 
of  the  people,  she  would  not  be  so  liberal." 

1  There  exists  in  the  Archives  d"1  Affaires  ttranglres  a  fragment  of  the 
instructions  of  Mazarin  to  Louis  XIV.,  written  under  the  dictation  of  the 
King.  M.  Chantelauze,  who  discovered  it,  published  it  in  the  Correspondent 
of  August  10,  1881.  *  Motteville. 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  113 

In  vain  Mazarin  hastened ;  he  did  not  have  time 
to  finish  his  task.  February  1 1 ,  1 66 1 ,  the  King,  real- 
ising that  his  minister  was  lost,  began  to  weep  and 
to  say  that  he  did  not  know  what  he  should  do.  All 
France  experienced  the  same  fears.  It  did  not 
occur  to  any  that  the  King  was  capable  of  govern- 
ing, or  that  he  would  take  the  trouble  to  do  so. 
The  doubt  was  only  as  to  the  name  of  the  one 
who  should  take  the  helm  in  place  of  the  Cardinal. 
Anne  of  Austria  believed  in  chance  ;  Conde  had  one 
party  amongst  the  nobility.  The  Parisian  bour- 
geoisie said  to  itself  that  Retz  was  perhaps  going 
to  return  from  over  sea  "for  necessity."1  The 
ministers  admitted  that  there  was  only  one  man 
fitted  for  the  position. 

While  these  various  intrigues  were  progressing, 
Mazarin  expired  (March  6th),  and  some  hours  later 
there  came  that  coup  de  thtdtre  of  which  one  reads 
in  all  histories.  Louis  XIV.  signified  to  his  minis- 
ters and  grandees  his  intention  of  himself  governing. 
Those  who  knew  him  well,  beginning  with  his  own 
mother,  did  nothing  but  laugh,  persuaded  that  it  was 
only  a  fire  of  straw.  Louis  at  first  shut  himself 
up  entirely  alone  during  two  hours,  in  order  to 
establish  a  "  rule  of  life  " 2  as  an  effective  monarch. 
The  programme  resulting  from  this  meditation  sur- 
prisingly resembles  the  one  given  by  Catherine  de 
Medicis  in  the  letter  already  cited.  It  exacts  the 
qualities  of  a  great  worker.  From  that  day,  Louis 
showed  these  qualities.  "  For  above  all,"  says  he  in 

1  Guy  Patin.     Letter  of  January  28,  1661.  a  Motteville. 


i)4  Louis  XIV.  and 

his  Memoir es,  "  I  resolved  not  to  have  a  first  min- 
ister, and  not  to  permit  to  be  filled  by  another  the 
functions  belonging  to  the  King,  as  long  as  I  bear 
the  title." 

The  passage  in  which  he  describes  his  "  wedding  " 
with  the  joy  of  work  is  moving  and  beautiful.  It 
is  even  poetical. 

I  felt  immediately  my  spirit  and  courage  elevated.  I 
found  myself  a  different  individual.  I  discovered  in  myself  a 
mind  which  I  did  not  know  existed,  and  I  reproached  myself 
for  having  so  long  ignored  this  joy.  The  timidity  which 
judgment  at  first  gave  caused  me  pain,  above  all  when  it  was 
necessary  to  speak  in  public  a  little  lengthily.  This  timidity, 
however,  was  dissipated  little  by  little. 

At  length  it  seemed  to  me  I  was  really  King  and  born  to  rule. 
I  experienced  a  sense  of  well-being  difficult  to  express. 

Louis  would  now  have  need  of  all  his  courage. 
In  measure  as  his  mind  became  "elevated,"  shame 
for  his  gross  ignorance  overcame  him.  "  When 
reason,"  says  he,  "  commences  to  become  solid,  one 
feels  a  cutting  and  just  chagrin  in  finding  oneself 
ignorant  of  what  all  others  know." 

The  practical  utility  of  his  neglected  studies  was 
realised  by  him.  Not  to  know  history  with  his 
"trade"  was  a  difficulty  felt  every  instant.  Not 
to  be  capable  of  deciphering  alone  a  Latin  letter 
when  Rome  and  the  Empire  wrote  their  dispatches 
only  in  Latin,  was  an  insupportable  slavery  to  others. 
Never  to  have  read  anything  upon  the  "  art  of 
war  "  when  the  ambition  was  aroused  to  become  an 
expert  in  this  art  and  to  acquire  glory  through  it, 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  115 

"was  to  put  brakes  on  one's  own  wheels."  The 
young  King's  education  must  be  remade  ;  the  only 
difficulty  was  the  finding  sufficient  leisure.  He 
would  not  allow  himself  to  be  hindered  by  other 
difficulties,  of  which  the  principal  one  was  the 
danger  of  hazarding  the  newly  acquired  authority 
by  returning  to  the  schoolroom. 

Louis  XIV.  braved  public  opinion  with  remark- 
able courage.  This  is  one  of  the  finest  periods  of 
his  life.  He  proved  himself  truly  great  by  his 
sentiment  of  professional  duty,  and  by  his  empire 
over  himself,  the  day  upon  which  he  dared  to  say 
to  himself  as  the  bourgeois  gentleman  of  Moliere 
was  forced  to  say,  knowing  well  the  ridicule  to 
which  he  was  exposed :  "I  wish  .  .  .  to  be 
able  to  reason  among  intelligent  people." 

In  order  to  do  him  full  justice,  it  is  necessary  to 
remember  the  foolish  effect  at  that  date  produced 
by  a  scholar  of  twenty-three.1  Classes  were  then 
finished  at  fifteen  or  sixteen,  and  the  memory  of 
them  was  inseparably  connected  with  birch  rods, 
without  whose  aid  there  was  no  teaching  in  the 
seventeenth  century.  When  it  was  known  that  the 
King  was  again  taking  Latin  lessons  from  his 
ancient  preceptor,  and  that  he  passed  hours  in  writ- 
ing themes,  the  courtiers  might  easily  have  had  it 
upon  the  end  of  their  tongues  to  demand  as  Mme. 
Jourdain  of  M.  Jourdain  :  "Are  you  at  your  age 
going  to  college  to  be  whipped  ?  " 

1  He  was  even  twenty-four  when  he  asked  Perefixc  again  to  give  him 
Latin  lessons. 


n6  Louis  XIV.  and 

He  did  not  console  himself  with  the  illusion  that 
his  rank  would  save  him  from  such  railleries.  He 
confesses  a  propos  of  history,  which  he  wished  to 
study  again,  how  keenly  sensitive  he  was  to  the 
thought  of  what  might  be  said.  "  One  single  scru- 
ple embarrassed  me,  which  was,  that  I  had  a  cer- 
tain shame,  considering  my  position  in  the  world,  of 
redescending  into  an  occupation  to  which  I  should 
earlier  have  devoted  myself."  Everything  had 
yielded  to  the  desire  "  not  to  be  deprived  of  the 
knowledge  that  every  worthy  man  should  have." 

In  spite  of  these  efforts,  Louis  was  never  edu- 
cated ;  he  never  knew  Latin,  which  was  deemed 
the  real  knowledge  of  the  seventeenth  century,  in 
which  century  the  language  was  well  taught.  Too 
much  business  or  too  many  pleasures  prevented 
the  young  King  from  pursuing  his  design  during  a 
sufficiently  long  period.  It  is  possible,  also,  that 
his  lack  of  natural  facility  may  have  discouraged 
him.  Louis  XIV.  had  memory  and  judgment,  but 
his  intelligence  was  slow.  In  short,  he  abandoned 
his  studies  too  soon  ;  he  felt,  and  repeated  till  the 
day  of  his  death  the  confession,  "  I  am  ignorant." 

But  Louis  never  relaxed  the  labours  belonging 
to  him  as  chief  of  the  State.  His  days  were  regu- 
lated once  for  all.  Mme.  de  Motteville  tells  the 
arrangement  the  day  following  the  death  of  Ma- 
zarin.  Saint-Simon  gives  it  again  a  half-century 
later,  and  it  is  identical.  Apart  from  extraordinary 
and  unexpected  business,  and  formal  functions,  so 
numerous  and  important  at  this  epoch,  the  King 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  1 1 7 

regularly  devoted  six  to  eight  hours  daily  to  ordinary 
business.  Add  to  these  hours  the  time  for  sleeping 
and  eating,  for  seeing  his  family  and  taking  the 
fresh  air,  and  but  little  time  would  have  been  left 
for  diversion  if  the  King  had  not  had  the  capacity 
of  doing  without  sleep  almost  at  will.  It  was  this 
physical  gift  which  permitted  him  to  provide  as 
largely  for  pleasure  as  for  work.  Nevertheless,  the 
Court  had  trouble  in  adapting  itself  to  the  new 
regime.  It  did  not  know  what  to  do  while  the 
King  worked. 

"  It  is  more  wearisome  here  than  can  be  imagined," 
wrote  the  Due  d'Enghien,  son  of  the  great  Conde, 
in  1664.  "The  King  is  shut  up  almost  the  en- 
tire afternoon."1  Outside  the  Court,  the  people 
could  have  cried  with  joy.  It  had  been  a  delight- 
ful surprise  to  discover  a  great  worker  in  this  ballet 
dancer.  Paris  was  ready  to  permit  him  to  indulge 
in  his  little  weaknesses,  provided  that  he  would 
govern,  that  he  himself  would  use  his  power.  The 
bourgeoisie  Frondeuse  was  disarmed. 

It  is  necessary  [wrote  Guy  Patin  to  a  friend]  that  I 
should  share  with  you  a  thought  which  I  find  very  amusing. 
M.  de  Vendome  has  said  that  our  good  King  resembles  a 
young  doctor  who  has  much  ardour  for  his  profession,  but  who 
demands  some  quid  pro  quo.  I  know  those  who  see  him  intim- 
ately, who  have  assured  me  that  he  has  very  good  intentions 
and,  that  as  soon  as  he  is  completely  the  master,  he  will  persuade 
all  the  world  of  them.  Amen. a 

1  Letter  of  June  2yth  to  the  Queen  of  Poland  (Archives  de  Chantilly). 
The  King  dined  at  one  o'clock. 

2  Letter  of  July  15,  1661. 


ii8  Louis  XIV.  and 

The  italicised  words  are  significant  of  the 
opinion  of  Guy  Patin.  In  establishing  absolute 
monarchy,  Louis  XIV.  had  the  good  wishes  of  all. 
Other  testimony  quite  as  remarkable  exists  to  con- 
firm this  statement.  After  the  death  of  Mazarin, 
Olivier  d'  Ormesson,  who  had  been  of  the  opposition 
party  in  the  Parliament,  and  whose  independence 
would  soon  cost  him  his  career,  let  three  entire  years 
roll  by  before  admitting  any  statement  in  his  journal 
to  the  detriment  of  the  King.  This  writer  also 
believes  in  Louis,  and,  on  the  whole,  approves  of 
the  compensations  (guid  pro  quo)  demanded  by 
the  governing  novice. 

After  the  first  astonishment,  the  sudden  change 
in  Louis's  methods  provoked  but  few  commentaries 
in  the  immediate  surroundings  of  the  King.  Anne 
of  Austria  had  a  fit  of  vexation  in  realising  that  she 
would  never  again  have  any  influence  ;  after  which, 
indolence  ^aiding,  her  course  was  taken.  The  Queen 
Mother  had  no  objection  on  principle  to  absolute 
monarchy  :  she  had  always  favoured  it.  She  could 
not,  as  a  Spanish  Princess,  conceive  of  royalty  being 
the  least  limited.  Once  resigned  to  the  new  situa- 
tion, she  became  a  truly  maternal  old  Queen,  who 
preached  virtue  to  youth,  and  endeavoured  to  lighten 
the  monotony  of  her  daughter-in-law's  life. 

Marie  -  Therese  had  only  one  single  political 
opinion ;  good  government  was  that  under  which 
a  king  could  pass  much  time  with  his  wife.  This 
poor  little  wife  died  without  having  ever  really 
lived  with  her  husband. 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  119 

Mademoiselle  had  no  reason  to  regret  the  first 
ministers ;  there  had  been  too  little  reason  to 
enjoy  the  two  with  whom  she  had  had  inter- 
course. She  imagined  herself  liberated  from  all 
dependence  through  the  death  of  the  Cardinal, 
succeeding  that  of  her  father,  and  this  thought  was 
most  agreeable  to  her.  She  did  not  perceive  that 
she  had  only  changed  masters,  and  that  the  new 
one  would  prove  himself  infinitely  more  difficult  to 
please,  more  exacting,  than  that  sceptical  Italian 
who  confined  himself  to  watching  that  she  did 
not  carry  away  her  millions  to  strangers  and  who 
simply  mocked  at  everything  else. 

Mademoiselle  finally  passed  through  the  state  of 
apprenticeship  to  absolute  monarchy.  Her  eyes 
were  opened  only  on  the  day  on  which  the  thunder 
cloud  burst  upon  her. 


CHAPTER  III 

Mademoiselle  at  the  Luxembourg — Her  Salon — The  "  Anatomies"  of  the 
Heart — Projects  of  Marriage,  and  New  Exile — Louis  XIV.  and  the 
Libertines — Fragility  of  Fortune  in  Land — Fetes  Galantes. 

WITH  the  approach  of  her  thirty-fifth  year,  the 
Grande  Mademoiselle  perceived  by  diverse 
signs  that  she  was  no  longer  young.  She  was 
forced  to  recognise  that  her  strength  had  its 
limitations,  which  fact  had  never  before  been 
forced  upon  her.  On  February  7,  1662,  Louis 
XIV.  danced  for  the  first  time  a  grand  ballet  en- 
titled the  "  Amours  of  Hercules,"  and  his  cousin 
of  Montpensier  took  part.  She  was  ill  from 
fatigue.  Another  kind  of  weariness  overcame  her  ; 
she  became  bored  with  fetes.  She  had  been  present 
at  so  many  gala  occasions  since  her  entrance  into 
the  world,  and  had  seen  so  many  festivals  and  fire- 
works, garlands  of  flowers  and  allegorical  chariots, 
that  she  was  now  quickly  satiated. 

The  King  still  loved  this  kind  of  abundant  pleas- 
ure ;  those  which  he  offered  to  his  Court  sometimes 
lasted  successive  days  and  nights,  without  giving 
time  to  breathe,  and  all  being  expected  to  feel  con- 
\   tinued  amusement.      Mademoiselle  was  no  longer 
\  capable  of  this.     She  was  beginning  to  long  for  the 
repose  of  home.     Her  sick  headaches  contributed 


120 


Louis  XIV.  and  La  Grande  Mademoiselle  121 

to  this  disability  ;  age  had  increased  them,  and  all 
women  know  that  it  is  better  to  suffer  a  headache 
in  solitude.  After  a  lively  struggle,  she  had  returned 
to  the  palace  of  the  Luxembourg  and  was  lodg- 
ing under  the  same  roof  as  her  stepmother.  The 
old  Madame  would  have  gladly  relinquished  a 
neighbour  whose  presence  presaged  nothing  good, 
but  no  one  had  sustained  the  contention  as  no  one 
was  in  the  least  interested  in  her  welfare.  One 
reads  in  a  fugitive  leaf  of  the  times  issued  on  July 
21,  1660:  "  This  affair  was  deliberated  upon  in  the 
Court,  and  it  was  found  that  Mademoiselle  had  the 
right  to  demand  one  of  the  apartments  free,  and 
that  Madame  could  not  refuse  it."  It  is  said  that 
the  King  wrote  to  Madame  in  order  to  soften  the 
blow  ;  it  was  necessary  to  drain  the  bitter  cup  to 
the  dregs,  and  at  a  time  in  which  Madame  had  great 
need  of  tranquillity  to  install  at  her  very  door  this 
tempestuous  stepdaughter,  with  whom  no  peace 
was  possible. 

Madame  had  "  vapours,"  otherwise  called  a 
nervous  malady.  She  was  afraid  of  noise,  of 
movement,  and  of  being  forced  to  speak,  and 
Mademoiselle  insisted  upon  making  "  scenes."  "  I 
teased  her  often,"  says  the  Princess  in  her  Memoir es, 
"  and  very  much  despised  her  (in  which  I  was 
wrong),  and  she  always  responded  as  one  who 
feared  me,  and  with  much  submission."  The  pub- 
lic did  not  consider  it  worth  while  to  waste  pity 
upon  Madame,  because  she  bored  every  one  ;  a 
fault  never  pardoned.  Anne  of  Austria,  herself  a 


122  Louis  XIV.  and 

very  amiable  woman,  when  not  opposed,  could  never 
suffer  her  inoffensive  sister-in-law.  The  Queen 
Mother  said  to  Mademoiselle,  who  did  not  need  this 
encouragement :  "  Her  person,  her  temper,  and  her 
manners  are  odious  to  me."  The  public  was  funda- 
mentally right  in  its  antipathy.  Madame  was  one 
of  those  people  who  render  virtue  hateful,  and  in 
thus  doing  are  very  injurious  to  humanity. 

The  Luxembourg  was  commodious  and  gay. 
Mademoiselle  enjoyed  it,  and  it  pleased  her  to  ar- 
range for  herself  a  grand  existence  as  a  Princess, 
rich  and  independent.  Nothing  could  be  more  dis- 
pleasing to  the  Court.  As  soon  as  Louis  XIV.  had 
assumed  full  power,  he  let  it  be  seen  that  he  wished 
no  social  centre  in  his  kingdom  other  than  his  own 
palace.  His  cousin  did  not  take  this  fact  into  ac- 
count. This  was  not  bravado.  It  was  due  to  the 
impossibility  of  comprehending  that  "  a  person  of 
her  quality  "  could  be  reduced  to  the  r6le  of  satellite. 

It  is  certain  that  nature  had  not  prepared  her  for 
this  role.  "  I  would  rather  pass  my  life  in  soli- 
tude," wrote  she,  "  than  restrain  in  any  way  my 
proud  humour,  even  at  the  expense  of  my  fortune. 
I  have  no  complaisance,  and  I  demand  a  great  deal 
from  others."1  She  also  adds  :  "  I  do  not  willingly 
praise  others  and  very  rarely  blame  myself."  With 
this  avowed  disposition,  it  would  perhaps  have  been 
wiser  not  to  go  too  often  to  the  Louvre.  It  was  a 

1  '  'Portrait  de  Mademoiselle  fait  par  elle-me'me  "  (Nov. ,  1657)  in  La  Galerie 
des  Portraits  de  Mademoiselle  de  Montpensier,  edited  by  Eduard  de  Bar- 
thelemy  (Paris,  1860). 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  123 

great  imprudence  to  attract  the  crowd  to  herself  as 
she  had  done  at  the  time  in  which  she  was  openly 
opposing  the  Tuileries. 

The  salon  of  Mademoiselle  became  the  first  in 
Paris,  the  most  interesting  and  select.  Since  Paris 
had  tasted  the  pleasures  of  clever  conversation  and 
discovered,  under  the  direction  of  Mme.  de  Ram- 
bouillet,  the  genius  of  this  delicate  art,  it  could  not 
do  without  it.  The  initiator  was  still  living,  but 
she  was  old  and  ill,  and  her  circle  had  long  been 
dispersed.1 

Mile,  de  Scudery  had  collected  together  as  many 
of  the  remnants  of  her  first  salon  as  she  could,  and 
had  thus  laid  the  foundation  for  the  famous  Satur- 
days, at  which  wit  and  knowledge  were  dispensed 
in  abundance.  Nevertheless,  it  was  not  the  same. 
The  Saturdays  of  "  Sapho  "  brought  back  the  liter- 
ary people  to  the  pedantry  from  which  Mme.  de 
Rambouillet  had  more  or  less  delivered  them. 
They  were  left  too  much  to  themselves,  and,  thus 
isolated,  they  had  lost  a  certain  intellectual  grace 
acquired  by  the  friction  between  the  aristocrats  and 
the  blue-stockings. 

The  mind  as  well  as  the  body  has  its  own  manners, 
and  they  may  be  bad  or  good.  In  1661,  the  Court 
alone  had  breeding.  There  existed  no  other  so- 
ciety in  which  the  first  comer  understood  how  to 
speak  a  language  easy  and  galant,  well  adapted  to 
plumed  hats  and  elegant  bows.  These  belonged 

1  Mme.  de  Rambouillet  died  very  aged  in  1665.     Her  influence  ended  in 
1650. 


124  Louis  XIV.  and 

to  the  traditions  of  the  place.  Such  courtesies  were 
lacking  with  the  learned  friends  of  Mile,  de  Scudery, 
who  no  longer  felt  themselves  spurred  on  by  the 
fine  gentlemen,  so  alert,  capable  of  such  light  rail- 
leries, and  detesting  pedants. 

The  feminine  society  of  the  Saturdays  had  also 
too  little  intercourse  with  duchesses  and  marquises 
to  replace  the  H6tel  Rambouillet.  Mile.  Bocquet, 
/who  filled  a  large  place  in  the  chronicles  of  the 
Saturdays,  was  very  amiable  and  played  the  lute 
"  marvellously,"  1  but  she  belonged  to  the  small 
bourgeoisie.  Mile.  Dupre,  another  intimate,  was 
an  intelligent  and  educated  girl,  who  had  made  a 
special  study  of  philosophy.  She  quoted  Descartes 
too  often  to  have  "  the  &\r galant"  in  conversation. 
As  much  could  be  said  of  others.  Mile,  de  Scude*ry 
herself,  who  had  been  received  in  the  best  company 
and  who  had  formally  combated  the  "  Blue-stocking- 
ism  "  with  admirable  good  sense,  had  not  written 
thirty-two  octavo  volumes  with  impunity.  There 
still  remained  a  little  ink  on  the  end  of  her  fingers. 
It  seemed  as  if  all  the  pedants  of  France  held 
their  classes  in  her  house.  Plays  upon  words  filled 
the  papers  scattered  about,  upon  which  "  Prosecu- 
tions "  were  held.  The  "  Illustrious  Sapho  "  had 
truly  inspired  Moliere  when  he  wrote  Les  Pre"ciemes 
Ridicules  ;  in  vain,  M.  Cousin  refuses  to  believe  it.2 
I  do  not  myself  think  that  she  escaped. 

1  Le  Grand  Cyrus.    The  greater  part  of  the  friends  of  Mile,  de  Scudery 
are  given  assumed  names.     Mile.  Bocquet  is  called  Agelaste. 
2Cf.  La  Socittt  fran$aise  au  XVIIe.  sihle,  vol.  ii.,  ch.  xv. 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  125 

Mademoiselle  rendered  to  the  wits  of  the  day  the 
service  of  sending  them  back  to  the  Court  for  les- 
sons in  language  and  manners.  We  are  well  in- 
formed of  this,  thanks  to  the  fantasy  of  a  Princess 
which  produced  a  little  literature  upon  the  model 
offered  by  the  Luxembourg. 

In  1657,  Mademoiselle,  being  at  Champigny  for 
the  Richelieu  lawsuit,  the  Princess  of  Tarente1  and 
Mile,  de  la  Tremouille2  showed  her  their  literary 
portraits  written  by  themselves.3  These  were  imita- 
tions of  those  which  Mile,  de  Scudery,  creator  of  the 
kind,  gave  in  her  romances, — the  personalities  to 
be  divined  with  a  key.  "  I  had  never  before  seen 
anything  of  the  kind  ;  I  found  them  very  galants, 
and  wrote  my  own."  After  her  own,  she  made 
others,  and  exacted  them  from  those  about  her. 

From  this  resulted  a  repertoire  unique  of  its 
kind,  in  which  noble  personages,  of  both  sexes  and 
all  ages,  have  been  so  obliging  as  not  to  leave  us 
ignorant  of  themselves,  from  the  state  of  their  teeth 
to  their  opinions  upon  love,  nor  have  they  omitted 
to  present  similar  details  concerning  their  friends. 

The  collection  of  these  Portraits*  reveals  to  us 
how  the  aristocracy  then  viewed  itself,  or,  at  least, 
how  it  wished  to  be  estimated  by  others.  The  ordi- 
nary beginning  was  to  picture  the  face  and  bearing. 

1  This  is  the  friend  of  Mme.  de  Sevigne. 

2  Sister-in-law  of  the  preceding.      She  married,  in  1662,  Bernard,  Duke 
of  Saxe-Jena.. 

8  Mademoiselle   says  in  her  Mtmoires  that  they  "had  them  written. 
This  is  an  error. 

4  La  Galerie  des  Portraits. 


i26  Louis  XIV.  and 

The  fashion  was  to  do  this  with  sincerity,  which 
by  no  means  indicates  modesty.  The  famous 
Duchesse  de  Chatillon  warned  readers  that  she  was 
going  to  speak  with  a  naivete  "  the  greatest  pos- 
sible." 

This  is  why  [continues  she]  I  can  say  that  I  have  the 
most  beautiful  and  best  formed  figure  which  has  ever  been 
seen.  There  is  none  so  regular,  so  free,  so  easy.  My  bearing 
is  entirely  agreeable,  and  in  all  my  actions  I  have  an  air  in- 
finitely spirituel.  My  face  is  a  most  perfect  oval,  according  to 
all  standards;  my  forehead  is  slightly  elevated,  which  aids  the 
regularity  of  the  oval.  My  eyes  are  brown,  very  brilliant,  and 
very  deeply  set;  the  gaze  is  very  gentle  and,  at  the  same  time, 
full  of  fire  and  spirit.  I  have  a  well-made  nose,  and  as  for 
the  mouth,  it  is  not  only  fine  and  well  coloured,  but  infinitely 
agreeable,  made  so  by  a  thousand  little  natural  expressions  not 
to  be  seen  in  any  other  mouths.  My  teeth  are  very  beautiful 
and  regular.  I  have  a  very  small  chin.  I  have  not  a  very 
white  skin.  My  hair  is  a  clear  chestnut,  and  very  lustrous. 
My  neck  is  more  beautiful  than  ugly.  As  for  my  arms  and 
hands,  I  am  not  proud  of  them;  but  the  skin  is  very  soft  and 
smooth.  It  would  be  impossible  to  find  a  thigh  better  made 
than  mine  or  a  foot  better  turned. 

The  description  of  the  physique  was  a  rule  of 
the  Portraits,  not  even  the  religieuses  believing 
that  it  should  be  dispensed  with. 

Among  the  Portraits  is  found  one  of  an  Abbess 
who  visited  Mademoiselle,  the  inspiring  Marie- 
Eleonore  de  Rohan,  a  person  much  esteemed  on 
account  of  her  mother,  the  famous  Duchesse  de 
Montbazon,  but  very  disconcerting,  notwithstand- 
ing, for  our  modern  ideals  of  monastic  life. 

She  divided  herself  between  the  cloister  and  the 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  127 

world,  sufficiently  edifying  when  it  was  needful, 
lively  and  brilliant  the  remainder  of  the  time,  and 
as  natural  in  the  one  r6le  as  in  the  other.  The 
Abbess  composed  works  of  piety  for  her  nuns, — 
among  others  La  Morale  de  Salomon,  many  times 
re-edited,  and  the  Paraphrases  des  sept  Psaumes  de 
la  Penitence.  The  lady  of  society  placed  herself 
before  her  mirror  and  wrote  without  a  shade  of 
embarrassment  :  "  I  have  some  haughtiness  in  my 
physiognomy  and  some  modesty.  I  have  too  large 
a  nose,  a  mouth  not  disagreeable,  lips  suitable,  and 
teeth  neither  beautiful  nor  ugly."  This  "  nose  too 
large  "  shocked  the  savant  Huet.  In  reproducing 
the  portrait  of  Mme.  1'Abbesse,  he  wrote  :  "  As  the 
beauty  of  the  nose  is  one  to  which  I  am  very  sensi- 
tive, permit,  Madame,  that  I  should  begin  with 
yours.  It  is  large ;  it  is  white,  slightly  aquiline, 
and  gives  something  spirituel  to  your  smile." 

Another  phrase  of  Huet's  gives  us  a  vision  of 
how  these  pseudo-religieuses,  whose  species  was 
destined  to  disappear  with  the  reform  of  convents, 
a  not  regrettable  fact,  accommodated  the  convent 
garb  with  coquetry  :  "  One  cannot  imagine,"  pur- 
sued the  future  bishop,  "  more  beautiful  hair  than 
yours  ;  it  is  ash  colour,  blond,  curls  in  a  very  agree- 
able manner,  and  admirably  suits  your  face,  as  far  as 
I  have  been  able  to  judge,  when  it  has  escaped  by 
chance,  in  spite  of  your  care  to  conceal  it." 

After  the  body  comes  the  temper,  tastes,  quali- 
ties, and  defects  of  the  mind.  Here  lies  the  lasting 
interest  of  the  Portraits.  It  is  valuable  to  know 


128  Louis  XIV.  and 

from  first  hand,  through  its  own  confidences,  that 
this  aristocratic  society,  from  which  the  King  ex- 
acted the  complete  sacrifice  of  its  independence, 
hated  nothing  more  than  restraint,  and  did  not  hesi- 
tate to  say  so.  Men  and  women,  speaking  for  them- 
selves, return  constantly  to  this  point,  and  always 
in  the  same  terms  :  "  I  hate  restraint.  Restraint 
is  insupportable  to  me."  "  I  have  an  aversion  for 
all  that  is  called  restraint."  "  I  suffer  oppression 
impatiently  and  I  passionately  love  liberty." 

From  the  point  of  view  of  absolute  monarchy  and 
the  discipline  which  it  wished  to  impose  upon  the 
Court,  the  French  nobility  had  very  bad  habits. 
This  nobility  professed  love  of  the  chivalric  virtues, 
and  hatred  of  anything  resembling  baseness  or  dis- 
loyalty. In  this,  it  was  sincere,  only  we  must  admit 
that  opinions  are  constantly  changing  even  in  rela- 
tion to  morals,  and  that  to-day,  we  might  have  diffi- 
culty in  agreeing  with  a  gentleman  of  1660  as  to 
what  is  loyal  or  base  and  what  is  not.  Honour 
commanded  the  gentleman  to  avenge  offences 
against  himself  without  too  closely  examining  into 
the  methods  of  so  doing.  Custom  authorised  him 
to  be  unjust  and  to  act  with  bad  faith  towards  the 
lowly,  common,  and  feeble,  in  particular  when 
money  was  owed.  Honesty  was  a  bourgeois  virtue. 
Mademoiselle  considered  it  unworthy  that  people 
of  quality  should  abuse  their  authority  to  "  ruin 
miserable  creditors,"  but  she  was  an  exception. 

The  obligations  of  "  honour  "  were  extending  to 
all  conditions.  Vatel  was  praised  for  having  killed 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  129 

himself  because  the  fish  did  not  rise.  "  It  was 
said,"  wrote  Mme.  de  Sevigne,  "  that  this  sort  of 
honour  was  a  strength." 

It  was  not  the  same  with  another  sentiment 
which  filled  the  plays  of  Corneille  and  which  is 
constantly  referred  to  in  all  the  writings  of  the 
time.  General  consent  reserved  for  people  of 
quality  the  privilege  of  having  ideas  of  "  Glory  and 
of  the  '  Beautiful '  or  the  True,"  which  led,  accord- 
ing to  Huet's  definition,  to  the  desire  for  grand 
things.  The  desire  for  "  true  glory,"  which  is  care- 
fully distinguished  from  what  he  called  the  "  halo 
of  glory,"  was  the  aristocratic  sentiment  "par  ex- 
cellence." Even  among  the  authors  of  the  Portraits, 
every  one  was  not  considered  to  possess  the  high 
capacity  for  strongly  feeling  this  longing. 

In  spite  of  the  prevailing  licentiousness  of  the 
Court,  there  still  remained  in  this  brilliant  society 
many  pure  women.  At  the  same  time,  virtue  was 
not  particularly  honoured.  It  was  a  matter  of  per- 
sonal taste,  the  nobility  only  attaching  a  secondary 
and  conventional  importance  to  its  practice.  The 
women  "  pure,"  or  those  who  were  supposed  so  to 
be,  received  praise  from  friendly  pens.  The  others 
were  not  looked  at  askance,  except  by  the  Jansen- 
ists  and  other  sombre  spirits. 

The  young  Comtesse  de  Fiesque,  with  whom 
Mademoiselle  had  been  embroiled  at  Saint-Far- 
geau,  had  a  well-established  reputation  for  gal- 
lantry. The  anonymous  author  of  her  Portrait 
makes  allusion  to  this,  and  hastens  to  add,  "  Truly 


130  Louis  XIV.  and 

this  does  her  no  harm."  No  harm  at  all !  Made- 
moiselle did  not  think  of  it  when  Mme.  de  Fiesque 
came  to  demand  pardon  for  her  impertinences : 
"  She  threw  herself  on  her  knees  before  me  ;  I 
raised  her  up  and  embraced  her ;  she  wept  with 
joy.  She  is  a  worthy  woman,  only  too  easily  led 
away,  but  good  at  heart." 

Naturally  men  spoke  very  freely  of  women  ;  it 
was  like  the  crowing  of  cocks.  An  anonymous 
writer,  who  might  have  been  the  poet  Racan,1  re- 
presents himself  as  "  very  ugly,  very  stammering, 
and  very  disagreeable,  very  grumbling  besides  and 
untruthful,"  and  goes  on,  "  I  am  very  bold  with 
women  and  quite  as  successful  as  if  I  were  good- 
looking  and  possessed  the  most  agreeable  qualities 
in  the  world  to  make  myself  well  received.  I  have 
indeed  found  myself  sometimes  as  you  see  me 
.  .  ."  There  is  still  greater  contempt  expressed 
for  women  in  the  following  passage  from  the  Por- 
trait of  La  Rochefoucauld  by  himself :  "  Formerly 
I  was  a  little  galant ;  now  not  at  all,  although  still 
youthful.  I  have  renounced  all  flirtations.  I  am 
only  astonished  that  there  should  still  be  so  many 
worthy  people  who  occupy  themselves  in  culling 
these  *  little  flowers.' '  Considering  Mme.  de 
Longueville,  this  statement  is  rather  hard.  I 
would  remark  in  passing,  that  La  Rochefoucauld 
was  forty-five2  at  the  moment  in  which  he  found 

1  M.  de  Barthelemy,  editor  of  the  Galerie  des  Portraits,  called  Honorat 
de  Bueil,  marquis  de  Racan  ;  born  in  1589,  died  in  1670. 

3  Or  forty-six,  depending  upon  the  date  of  the  Portrait,  1658  or  1659. 


FRANCOIS  DE  LA  ROCHEFOUCAULD 
From  the  engraving  by  Hopwood  after  the  painting  by  Petitot 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  131 

himself  somewhat  "  young  to  renounce  flirtations." 
Moliere,  however,  was  soon  to  make  all  Paris  laugh 
at  the  expense  of  Arnolphe,1  who  indulged  in  love 
affairs  at  the  age  of  forty-two.  Shall  we  conclude 
that  Moliere  attempted  to  lessen  the  limit  of  the 
age  of  love,  or  was  it  only  in  the  theatre  that  fashion 
exacted  young  lovers  ?  I  leave  this  question  to  the 
clever.  It  is  not  without  importance  in  the  history 
of  sentiments. 

The  fashion  of  Portraits  lasted  but  little  more 
than  two  years  with  those  who  were  its  sponsors ; 
as  soon  as  the  custom  reached  the  bourgeoisie,  the 
people  of  quality  abandoned  it.  The  very  lively 
taste  developed  in  the  middle  class,  in  their  turn, 
for  this  diversion  proved  of  real  service  to  liter- 
ature. The  imitators  of  the  "  Galerie  "  learned,  as 
previously  the  creators  of  the  game  had  done,  to 
know  the  "  interior  of  people." 2  "  The  anatomies  " 
of  their  own  hearts,  imperfect  as  they  were,  habitu- 
ated them  to  discern  the  "  qualities  and  temper  of 
people,"  3  and  thus  a  large  public  was  prepared  to 
comprehend  the  women  of  Racine. 

Mademoiselle  was  one  of  the  first  to  profit  by  the 
"  soul  studies  "  which  she  had  brought  into  favour. 
There  remains  a  little  passage  in  a  portion  of 
her  Memoir es,  written  after  1660,  which  clearly 
indicates  this.  Progress  is  equally  marked  in  a 

1  U Ecole  des  Femmes  was  issued  in  1662. 

2  The  expression  is  from  the  beautiful  Marquise  de  Mauny,  who  formed 
part  of  the  little  Court  of  Saint-Fargeau. 

3  From  Mme.  de  Sainctot,  wife  of  the  master  of  ceremonies  and  intro- 
ducer of  ambassadors  under  Louis  XIV.     She  was  a  friend  of  Voiture. 


132  Louis  XIV.  and 

little  romance  with  a  key,  entitled  Histoire  de  la 
Princesse  de  Paphlagonie,  which  was  composed  and 
printed  at  Bordeaux  in  1659,  during  the  prolonged 
sojourn  of  the  Court  at  that  place. 

This  is  not  the  only  imaginative  work  for  which 
this  facile  pen 1  is  responsible,  but  it  is  the  only  one 
worthy  of  notice.  The  subject  is  without  interest ; 
Mademoiselle  has  incorporated  in  a  literary  tale  the 
absurd  quarrels  of  her  household  :  "  I  made  a  little 
history  which  was  finished  in  three  days,  by  writing 
in  the  evening  after  returning  from  the  Queen." 
In  compensation,  there  are  in  the  Princesse  de 
Paphlagonie  some  sketches  after  nature,  written 
with  a  firm  and  live  touch,  a  novelty  with  Mademoi- 
selle. A  passage  upon  the  blue  room  of  Mme.  de 
Rambouillet  will  prove  a  great  aid  in  any  attempt 
to  reconstruct  an  elegant  interior  under  Louis 
XIV.,  if  the  experiment  should  ever  be  made  as 
has  been  suggested  of  playing  the  comedies  of 
Moliere  in  the  true  "chamber"  of  Philaminte  or 
of  Celimene.  Others  have  spoken  of  the  rooms  in 
which  Mme.  de  Rambouillet  received.  The  har- 
monious decoration  and  the  scholarly  disorder  have 
been  before  described,  yet  no  one  but  Mademoiselle 
has  given  us  the  intimate  atmosphere  of  the  sanctu- 
ary, with  its  measured  and  discreet  light,  its  luxury 
of  flowers,  its  objects  of  art,  and  its  small  but  choice 
library  betraying  the  tastes  and  the  preferences  of 

1  The  others  are,  Vie  de  Madame  de  Fouquerolles,  supposed  autobiography 
of  a  lady  mixed  up  with  Fronde  intrigues  (MS.  exists  in  the  library  of  the 
Arsenal),  and  La  Relation  de  Vile  imaginaire  (1658),  badinage  upon  an 
episode  in  Don  Qwxote. 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  133 

the  divinity  of  the  place.  The  description  resembles 
more  nearly  the  salon  of  an  intelligent  woman  of 
the  twentieth  century  than  a  suite  of  the  Chateau 
of  Versailles. 

The  guests  of  Mademoiselle  profited  also  by  the 
refinement  of  her  tastes.  She  enforced  one  single 
rule  in  her  salon  :  cards  were  banished.  No  one 
was  exposed  to  the  danger  of  being  ruined,  as  was 
the  case  in  the  circle  of  the  King,  who  encouraged 
heavy  play.  It  did  not  displease  Louis  XIV.  to  be 
the  Providence  of  the  losers,  this  again  being  a 
method  of  keeping  his  nobles  in  hand.  His  cousin 
in  no  way  shared  in  such  considerations.  She  said  : 
"  I  hate  to  play  cards,"  and  only  played  when  it  was 
impossible  to  avoid  doing  so.  She  did  not  at  all 
like  to  lose.  It  was  remarked  that  the  Luxem- 
bourg had  gained  in  gaiety  with  the  exclusion  of 
gambling  games.  "There  is  a  hundred  times  as 
much  laughter,"  relates  the  Abbe  de  Choisy,1  at 
this  date  very  young  and  a  frequent  guest  at  the 
palace  of  the  Luxembourg,  where  he  met  numerous 
companions  of  his  own  age. 

The  three  daughters  of  the  old  Madame,  Miles. 
d'Orleans,  d'Alengon,  and  de  Valois,2  were  always 
with  their  step-sister.  They  escaped  from  their 
deserted  apartment  to  run  towards  the  noise  and 
movement ;  their  life  was  too  sad  with  Madame  and 

1  MJmoires.     Frangois-Timoleon  de  Choisy  was  born  in  1644.     There  is 
some  question  as  to  who  was  his  mother. 

2  Marguerite  Louise  d'Orleans  was  born  July  28,  1645;    Elisabeth,  called 
Mile  d'Alen?on,  December  26,  1646  ;  Fransoise-Madeleine,  called  Mile,  de 
Valois,  October  13,  1648. 


134  Louis  XIV.  and 

her  eternal  "vapours."  Relegated  to  their  cham- 
bers as  at  Blois,  with  some  childish  companions, 
among  whom  was  Louise  de  La  Valliere,1  still  un- 
known, they  lived  in  a  state  of  distrust  of  their 
almost  invisible  mother,  who  never  addressed  a 
word  to  them  except  in  scolding. 

At  least,  with  Mademoiselle  one  had  the  right  to 
move.  Young  people  had  great  freedom.  Little 
games  were  organised.  Parties  of  hide  and  seek 
and  blind-man's-buff  were  enjoyed.  "  As  I  had 
violin  players,  it  was  easy  to  dance  in  any  room 
sufficiently  distant  from  Madame."  The  Abbe  de 
Choisy  adds  a  gracious  detail :  "  There  were  violin- 
ists, but  ordinarily  they  were  silent  and  we  danced 
to  singing.  It  is  so  charming  to  dance  to  the 
sound  of  the  voice."  While  the  young  moved 
gaily  about,  their  elders  had  also  their  little 
games. 

Everything  yielded,  however,  to  the  unequalled 
pleasure  of  conversation.  Among  those  who 
gave  eclat  to  the  Luxembourg,  the  names  of  La 
Rochefoucauld,  Segrais,  Mme.  de  Lafayette,  and 
Mme.  de  Sevigne  may  be  mentioned.  Mademoi- 
selle herself  often  led  the  conversation,  beating  the 
drums  a  little,  her  fashion  in  everything,  but  also 
with  a  certain  spontaneity  which  she  always 
displayed. 

Conversation  was,  during  more  than  a  century, 

1  Born  at  Tours  in  1644.  Her  father,  Laurent  de  La  Baume  Le  Blanc, 
Seigneur  de  La  Valliere,  dying  in  1654,  her  mother  remarried  Jacques  de 
Courtavel,  marquis  de  Saint-Remi,  maitre  d'hotel  de  Gaston  d'Orleans. 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  135 

even  to  the  time  of  the  Revolution,  to  be  the  great 
delight  of  intelligent  France,  and  this  pleasure  ren- 
dered incomparable  service  to  the  French  language, 
which  had  rather  deteriorated  during  the  first 
periods  of  the  seventeenth  century.  It  was  imme- 
diately perceived  that  the  worst  fault  for  a  talker 
was  to  speak  like  a  book,  and  the  French  owe  to 
this  simple  observation  the  lesson  which  taught 
them  to  become  the  first  in  the  world  for  vivacity 
and  naturalness  in  the  art  of  conversation.  The 
habitues  of  the  Luxembourg  only  regretted  that 
the  conversation  did  not  oftener  turn  upon  love. 
But,  in  this  respect,  Mademoiselle  was  not  as  com- 
plaisant as  at  Saint-Fargeau.  We  have  seen  that, 
in  practice,  she  closed  her  eyes ;  this  simplified  life. 
For  her  own  pleasure,  she  preferred  other  topics ; 
this  particular  one  became  at  length  insupportable 
to  her.  "  I  am  much  criticised,"  says  she  in  her  Por- 
trait, "  because  the  verses  I  like  the  least,  are  those 
which  are  passionate,  for  I  have  not  a  tender  soul." 
Besides,  she  had  really  nothing  more  to  say  upon 
the  subject  of  love.  She  had  just  made  her  pro- 
fession of  faith  in  a  correspondence  with  Mme.  de 
Motteville,  who,  while  awaiting  something  better, 
circulated  a  manuscript  in  which  one  reads,  "  Its 
conditions  are  shameful ;  it  is  robbery  and  unjust, 
without  faith  and  without  equity.  It  is  an  impiety  ; 
it  mocks  the  holy  sacrament.  Marriage  adjusts 
nothing  :  everything  is  given  to  man." 

"  Let  us  escape  from  slavery,"  cried  Mademoi- 
selle.    "  Let  there  be  at  least  one  corner  of  the 


136  Louis  XIV.  and 

globe  in  which  one  can  say  that  women  are  their 
own  mistresses."  Every  one  has  the  right  to  de- 
spise love  and  marriage,  provided  only  that  one 
does  not  insist  on  applying  this  sentiment  only  to 
others.  The  youth  of  the  Luxembourg  knew  too 
well  that  Mademoiselle  sought  with  an  increasing 
ardour  that  "slavery"  against  which  in  conversa- 
tion or  in  writing  she  called  her  sex  to  revolt.  Her 
intimate  friends  realised  that  she  was  inventing 
illusions,  under  the  influence  of  a  possible  posses- 
sion which  induced  a  belief  in  their  reality.  She 
had  believed  in  an  eager  tenderness  on  the  part  of 
the  little  Monsieur  who  had  married  some  one  else. 
After  the  restoration  of  the  Stuarts  (April,  1660), 
she  imagined  (the  recital  is  fully  given  in  her 
M&notres)  that  the  King,  Charles  II.,  whom  she  had 
refused  with  disdain  when  he  was  only  a  poor  pre- 
tender, had  no  other  intention  in  remounting  the 
throne  than  again  to  demand  her  hand,  and  that 
she  would  nobly  respond :  "  I  do  not  deserve  this, 
having  rejected  your  suit  when  you  were  in  disgrace. 
The  remembrance  of  this  would  always  rest  on  our 
two  hearts  and  would  prevent  true  happiness/' 
This  fine  response  has  been  quoted  a  hundred 
times.  Unfortunately,  it  is  very  clearly  proved 
through  the  testimony  of  English  documents 1  that 
Mademoiselle  had  no  occasion  to  make  it. 

Advances,  alas  !    had  come  from  one  side  only 
and  had  been  ill  received.     "  I  very  much  desire 

1  Cf.  Madame,    Memoirs  of  Henrietta,  Duchess   of  Orleans,   by  Julia 
Cartwright  (London,   1894). 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  137 

the  marriage  of  Mademoiselle,"  wrote  Lady  Derby 1 
to  her  sister-in-law,  Mme.  de  la  Tremouille,  through 
whom  passed  the  "  insinuations,"  "  but  the  King  has 
a  great  aversion  to  it  on  account  of  the  contempt 
which  she  has  shown  him.  I  have  spoken  of  her 
to  Marquis  d'Ormond,  but  I  have  met  with  little 
encouragement."  In  another  letter  :  "  I  have  pro- 
posed Mademoiselle,  but  I  have  little  hope.  If 
the  King  looks  for  wealth,  we  can  hardly  expect 
greater  than  with  Mademoiselle.  But  I  fear  that 
having  been  despised  in  his  poverty,  he  may  be 
little  disposed  to  regard  such  a  marriage."  Charles 
II.  would  listen  to  nothing;  he  had  guarded  a 
grudge  against  his  cousin.  On  the  other  hand, 
there  is  every  appearance  of  truth  when  she  states 
that  the  old  Due  Charles  III.  de  Lorraine,2  had 
demanded  her  "on  his  knees"  for  a  youth  of  eigh- 
teen, Prince  Charles  de  Lorraine,  his  nephew,  who 
became  afterwards  one  of  the  most  famous  Austrian 
generals.  It  was  a  question,  as  can  well  be  under- 
stood, of  a  political  combination. 

Unfortunately,  Prince  Charles  himself  had  an- 
other project,  better  suited  to  his  age.  He  was  in 
love  with  the  eldest  daughter  of  Madame,  Mar- 
guerite d'Orleans,  who  returned  his  affection  with 
all  her  heart.  The  youthful  society  of  the  Luxem- 
bourg accuses  Mademoiselle  of  having,  through 
jealousy,  caused  this  project  to  fail.  "The  affair 

1  Lady  Derby  was  a  La  Tremouille.    The  sister-in-law  to  whom  the  letters 
are  addressed  was  the  sister  of  Turenne. 

2  Or  Charles  IV.  ;    there  are  two  methods  of  counting  the  Dukes  of 
Lorraine. 


138  Louis  XIV.  and 

had  been  advanced,"  relates  that  gossip,  the  Abbe" 
de  Choisy,  "  but  the  old  Mademoiselle  had  talked 
and  cackled  so  much  that  she  spoiled  everything." 
She  was  desperate  at  the  thought  of  her  younger 
sisters,  beggars  compared  to  herself,  marrying 
under  her  very  eyes.  Marguerite  d'Orleans  made, 
out  of  spite,  a  marriage  which  turned  out  badly,1 
but  through  which  Mademoiselle  in  no  way  profited. 
Owing  to  a  singular  change  of  desire,  from  the  day 
on  which  it  had  depended  upon  herself  to  marry 
Prince  Charles,  she  had  only  felt  contempt  for  this 
little  prince  "sans  forts"* 

These  caprices  made  the  King  impatient,  who 
ended  by  making  negotiations  with  Lorraine  with- 
out any  longer  occupying  himself  with  his  cousin. 
Louis  XIV.  still  retained  the  old  monarchical  prin- 
ciples in  relation  to  the  marriage  of  princesses. 
He  regarded  them  simply  from  the  point  of  view 
of  politics  ;  questions  to  be  settled  by  governments 
and  into  which  sentiments  must  not  be  permitted 
to  intrude.  The  idea  that  every  human  being  has 
a  right  to  happiness  did  not  belong  to  his  times, 
and  if  it  had  been  suggested,  the  King  would  have 
surely  condemned  it,  for  it  insisted  upon  individual 
interests  as  opposed  to  those  of  the  community, 
the  rights  of  which  appeared  specially  sacred  to 
the  people  of  the  seventeenth  century. 

Louis  XIV.  did  not  believe  for  himself  that  he 

1  See  the  very  curious  volume  by  M.  Rodocanachi,  Les  Inf or  tunes  (Tune 
petite-fille  d1  Henri  IV.  The  marriage  of  the  Princess  Marguerite  with  the 
Duke  of  Tuscany  took  place  April  19,  1661. 

9  Mtmoires  of  Mademoiselle. 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  139 

had  the  right  to  accept  only  the  agreeable  duties 
belonging  to  his  "  trade  of  king,"  since  he  had  un- 
dertaken an  existence  devoted  to  strenuous  labour, 
when  it  would  have  been  so  pleasant  to  do  nothing. 
According  to  his  principle,  the  higher  the  position 
of  an  individual,  the  more  it  was  fitting  that  he 
should  sacrifice  his  own  desires  to  the  public  good. 
Mademoiselle  had  the  honour  of  being  his  first 
cousin  ;  he  had  firmly  resolved  to  marry  her,  or  not 
to  marry  her,  to  bestow  her  hand  upon  a  hero  or  a 
monster,  according  as  he  should  judge  it  useful  to 
"  the  service  of  the  King."  There  was  a  certain 
grandeur  in  this  fashion  of  recognising  relationship. 

It  had  not  occurred  to  the  King  that  Mademoi- 
selle would  ever  have  the  audacity  to  resist  him. 
It  can  be  said  that  any  real  understanding  between 
the  two  was  an  impossibility.  Mademoiselle  had 
lived  too  long  jn  the  midst  of  the  opposition  to 
yield  to  the  notion  of  absolute  royal  power  with- 
out limitations  and  including  all  possible  persons. 
Louis  XIV.  had  a  too  profound  faith  in  the  doc- 
trine of  the  divine  right  of  kings  to  refuse  for 
himself  any  of  the  prerogatives  devolving  upon 
him.  Both  these  opinions  represented  Frenchmen 
at  large ;  but  for  the  moment  Mademoiselle  was 
being  borne  along  by  the  ebbing  tide,  Louis  XIV. 
by  the  rising  one. 

This  Prince  had  entered  the  world  at  an  oppor- 
tune moment  to  profit  by  a  doctrine  which,  accord- 
ing to  a  happy  expression,  seemed  made  for  him  as 
he  for  it.  After  the  Reform,  the  enforcing  the  old 


140  Louis  XIV.  and 

theory  of  the  divine  origin  of  power  had  a  bene- 
ficial result.  The  populace  in  many  a  country  and 
province  had  found  themselves  as  much  interested 
as  the  sovereigns  in  suppressing  the  political  power 
of  the  Pope  outside  of  his  own  States,  and  resent- 
ing his  interference  in  the  affairs  of  other  countries. 

In  France,  in  the  sixteenth  century,  one  meets 
with  Calvinist  theologians  amongst  the  writers  who 
claimed  that  princes  received  their  power  directly 
from  God,  and  from  God  alone.  The  immediate 
consequence  of  this  doctrine  was  to  heighten  the 
eclat  of  royalty.  Princes  became  images  of  divin- 
ity, and  even  something  more  ;  Louis  XIV.,  not 
yet  five,  heard  himself  spoken  of  as  the  "  Divinity 
made  visible."  Two  years  later,  the  Royal  Cate- 
chism 1  explained  to  him  that  he  was  "  Vice-Dieu." 
Twenty  years  later  Louis  XIV.  was  "  Dieu,"  with- 
out any  qualification,  and  Bossuet  himself  declared 
it  from  the  pulpit.  On  April  2,  1662,  preaching  at 
the  Louvre  and  speaking  of  the  duties  of  kings, 
Bossuet  cried  :  "  O  Gods  of  nations  and  of  lands, 
you  must  die  like  mortals;  nevertheless,  until 
Death,  you  are  Gods." 

When  a  man  hears  such  statements  without 
shrinking,  he  is  quite  ready  to  accept  all  the  conse- 
quences. "  Kings,"  writes  an  anonymous  person, 
"  are  absolute  lords  of  all  who  breathe  in  any 
portion  of  their  empire."  2 

Louis    XIV.    has   very   clearly   formulated   the 

1  Par  Fortin  de  la  Hoguete  (1645). 
s  L *  Image  du  Souverain  (1649). 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  141 

same  thought  in  his  Memoir es  :  "  The  one  who  has 
given  kings  to  men  has  wished  that  they  should  be 
respected  as  his  lieutenants,  reserving  for  himself 
alone  the  right  to  examine  their  conduct.  It  is 
the  divine  wish  that  any  one  born  a  subject  should 
obey  without  question."1  It  must  be  added  that 
Louis  had  arrived  at  these  conclusions  under  a 
pressure  of  public  opinion,  which  had  become  im- 
patiently desirous  of  giving  to  monarchy  the 
strength  needed  to  place  the  shattered  land  again 
in  a  condition  of  order. 

On  the  death  of  Mazarin,  France  resembled  a 
large  establishment  whose  cupboards,  confided  to  a 
negligent  steward,  had  not  during  an  entire  gene- 
ration been  put  in  order.  A  flash  of  vivid  hope 
passed  through  France  on  seeing  its  young  mon- 
arch, vigorously  aided  by  Colbert,  put  the  broom  to 
the  mass  of  abuses  and  inequities  which  bore  the 
name  of  administration,  and  show  himself  resolved, 
in  spite  of  resistance,  to  introduce  into  the  great 
public  services  order  and  moral  cleanliness. 

This  was  not  finished  without  tears  and  grinding 
of  teeth,  not  without  some  injustice  also,  as  in  the 
case  of  Foucquet,  assuredly  culpable,  but  paying  for 
many  others,  of  whom  Mazarin  was  the  first.  But 
this  cleansing  was  accomplished.  First,  the  finances 
were  attacked,  with  the  happy  result  that  people 
paid  less  and  that  the  imposts  returned  more  ;  then 
justice, — law  reform  was  commenced  in  1665,  and 
the  "  grands  jours  "  of  Auvergne  were  opened  the 

1  Memoir es  pour  1667.     Ed.  by  Charles  Dreyss. 


142  Louis  XIV.  and 

same  year ;  the  army, — the  soldiers,  paid  regularly, 
committed  fewer  disorders,  and  the  nobility  learned, 
willingly  or  not,  military  obedience. 

At  the  same  time,  industry  and  commerce  in- 
creased to  such  an  extent  that,  from  1668,  orders 
flooded  Paris  "  from  the  entire  world  "  for  a  vast 
number  of  articles  which  ten  years  previous  had 
been  imported.  The  ambassador  from  Venice,  Gius- 
tiniani,  writes  this  statement  to  his  government. 

The  strong  will  of  the  master  had  put  the  coun- 
try in  motion.  Louis  XIV.  was  confirmed  in  his 
high  opinion  of  absolute  monarchy.  The  same  year 
in  which  Bossuet  had  encouraged  him  to  believe 
himself  above  ordinary  humanity,  the  King  de- 
cided, with  a  perfectly  equable  conscience,  to  marry 
the  Grande  Mademoiselle  to  a  veritable  monster, 
in  the  interest  of  a  political  combination  which 
he  held  at  heart,  for  he  returns  to  it  several  times 
in  his  Mdmoires.  His  father-in-law,  Philippe  IV., 
menaced  the  independence  of  Portugal.1  Louis 
XIV.  hesitated  to  assist  Portugal  openly,  on  ac- 
count of  the  treaty  of  the  Pyrenees.2  On  the  other 
hand,  he  considered  double-dealing  more  honest  to 
the  Spaniards  than  their  conduct  might  be  to  him 
if  opportunity  permitted.  "  I  cannot  doubt  that 
they  would  have  been  the  first  to  violate  the  treaty 
of  the  Pyrenees  on  a  thousand  points,  and  I  should 
believe  myself  failing  in  my  duty  to  the  State,  if, 
through  being  more  scrupulous,  I  should  permit 

1  Portugal  had  again  become  independent  in  1640. 

2  Mdmaires  for  the  year  1661. 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  143 

them  freely  to  ruin  Portugal,  and  to  fall  back  upon 
me  with  their  entire  strength." 

It  seemed  to  him  that  he  could  conciliate  all  by 
aiding  Portugal  secretly,  and  Turenne  had  no  re- 
pugnance to  this  course.  This  kind  of  action  was 
then  called,  and  is  often  still  designated,  sagacious 
statesmanship. 

Such  being  the  situation,  Turenne  came  one 
afternoon  to  seek  Mademoiselle  in  her  cabinet. 
The  account  of  this  interview  has  been  preserved 
for  us  by  the  Princess,  and  we  can  this  time  trust 
her  accuracy.  Her  Memoir es  are  in  accord  with 
contemporary  witnesses.  It  was  towards  the  end 
of  the  winter  of  1662.  Turenne  seated  himself  at 
the  corner  of  the  fireplace  and  began  with  tender 
protestations.  "  As  I  am  somewhat  brusque,  I  at 
once  demanded  of  him,  *  What  is  the  question  ?  * 
He  replied  :  *  I  wish  to  marry  you.'  I  interrupted 
him,  saying  :  *  That  is  not  easy ;  I  am  content 
with  my  condition.' 

"  '  I  will  make  you  Queen.  Listen  to  me.  Let 
me  tell  you  everything,  and  afterward  you  can 
speak.  I  wish  to  make  you  Queen  of  Portugal.' 
*  Fi ! '  cried  I  to  myself,  '  I  do  not  wish  it.'  He 
went  on  :  *  Maidens  of  your  quality  have  no  de- 
sires ;  they  must  act  as  the  King  wills.' ' 

The  monarch  whose  mention  makes  Mademoi- 
selle cry  "  Fi  !  "  was  called  Alphonse  VI.,  and  was 
not  yet  twenty.  At  twenty-three,  the  Abbe  de  Saint- 
Romain,1  our  envoy  to  Portugal,  reported  that  he 

1  Mignet,  Negotiations  relatives  a  la  succession  cTEspagne. 


144  Louis  XIV.  and 

could  neither  read  nor  write.  In  compensation,  he 
pulled  the  ears  and  tore  out  the  hair  of  those  who 
approached  him,  and  this  was  in  his  "good  days"  ; 
in  the  bad  ones,  he  struck,  indifferently  with  his 
feet,  hands,  or  sword,  any  one  who  vexed  him. 
His  subjects  no  longer  dared  to  pass  through  the 
streets  at  night,  because  one  of  his  diversions  was 
to  charge  at  them  suddenly  in  the  "  darkness  and 
to  try  to  spit  them." 

In  person,  Alphonse  VI.  was  a  fat  little  barrel, 
paralysed  in  one  limb,  "  gluttonous  and  dirty," 
almost  always  drunk,  and  vomiting  after  his  meals. 
He  wore  six  or  seven  coats  one  over  the  other, 
amongst  which  "  a  petticoat  of  three  hundred  taf- 
fetas, embroidered  with  pistol  shots " ;  upon  his 
head,  a  hood  falling  over  his  eyes,  several  caps  over 
this,  one  of  which  covered  the  ears,  and  an  "  Eng- 
lish bonnet"  over  all.  "His  body,"  pursues  the 
Abbe,  "  smells  horribly,  and  he  has  always  bad 
ulcers  in  the  softer  portions  .  .  .  and  these 
offences  could  not  be  supported  if  he  did  not 
bathe  once  daily  in  winter,  twice  in  other  seasons." 
Fear  obliged  him  to  make  "  seventeen  people 
always  sleep  in  his  chamber." 

Turenne,  however,  forced  himself  to  gild  this 
rather  bitter  pill.  He  pointed  out  to  Mademoiselle 
how  useful  it  would  be  and  for  what  reasons  to 
have  a  French  princess  on  the  throne  of  Portugal. 
He  promised  her,  knowing  her  special  weakness, 
that  she  should  be  absolute  mistress  of  the  "  great 
and  powerful  army  "  ;  that  the  King  would  give  it 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  145 

entirely  over  to  her  by  degrees.  Without  doubt, 
Alphonse  VI.  was  a  paralytic,  "  but,"  asserted 
Turenne,  "  this  does  not  appear  when  he  is 
dressed  ;  he  only  slightly  drags  one  leg,  and  is  a 
little  awkward  with  his  arm.  So  much  the  better, 
if  his  intelligence  also  is  a  little  slow.  It  is  not 
known  whether  or  not  he  has  any  wit ;  after  all,  it 
is  only  good  form  for  husbands  to  be  gay." 

"  But,"  replied  Mademoiselle,  "  to  be  the  link  of 
a  perpetual  war  between  France  and  Spain  seems 
to  me  a  very  undesirable  position."  The  situation 
would  be  still  worse  if,  as  she  was  convinced  would 
be  the  case,  the  two  crowns  should  arrive  at  an 
accommodation. 

"  A  truly  beautiful  future  :  to  have  a  drunken 
and  paralytic  husband,  whom  the  Spaniards  would 
chase  from  his  kingdom,  and  to  return  to  France 
to  demand  alms,  when  all  my  wealth  has  been  dis- 
sipated, and  to  remain  only  the  queen  of  some 
little  village.  It  is  good  to  be  Mademoiselle  in 
France  with  five  hundred  thousand  francs  of  in- 
come, and  nothing  to  demand  of  the  Court.  Thus 
placed,  it  is  foolish  to  move.  If  the  Court  becomes 
weariness,  one  can  retire  to  one's  chateau  in  the 
country,  in  which  a  little  private  court  of  one's  own 
can  be  held.  It  is  very  diverting  also  to  build  new 
houses.  Finally,  as  mistress  of  one's  own  wishes 
one  is  happy,  for  one  does  what  one  wills." 

"  But,"  returned  Turenne,  "  remaining  Made- 
moiselle, even  admitting  all  that  you  have  said,  you 
are  still  subject  to  the  King.  He  commands  what 


146  Louis  XIV.  and 

he  wills ;  when  his  wishes  are  refused,  he  scolds ; 
a  thousand  disagreeable  things  are  felt  at  Court; 
often  the  King  goes  farther,  he  chases  people 
away.  When  they  are  content  in  one  place,  he 
sends  them  to  another.  He  orders  journeys  from 
one  end  of  the  kingdom  to  the  other.  Sometimes, 
he  imprisons  recalcitrants  in  their  own  homes,  or 
sends  them  into  convents,  and  in  the  end,  obedience 
must  come.  What  can  you  reply  to  this  ?  " 

"That  people  of  your  station  do  not  menace 
those  of  mine,"  cried  Mademoiselle  in  anger ;  "that 
I  know  what  I  must  do  ;  that  if  the  King  says  any- 
thing contrary,  I  will  see  what  I  shall  respond  to 
him." 

She  forbade  Turenne  to  mention  this  affair 
again,  and  withdrew.  "  Five  or  six  days  later,  he 
again  addressed  me."  At  this  time,  some  common 
friends  were  present.  Mademoiselle  grew  anxious. 
How  far  was  Turenne  the  authorised  messenger  of 
the  King?  She  wrote  to  the  latter  to  provoke 
an  explanation.  No  response.  She  confided  her 
trouble  to  the  Queen  Mother,  who  confined  herself 
to  these  words :  "  If  the  King  wishes  this,  it  is  a 
terrible  pity ;  he  is  master ;  as  for  me,  I  have 
nothing  to  say  in  the  matter." 

"  I  was  in  frightful  haste,"  adds  Mademoiselle, 
"  that  the  time  for  the  Baths  of  Forges  should  come> 
and  that  I  might  go  away."  The  season  arrived. 
It  was  needful  to  take  leave  of  the  King.  She 
wished  to  have  the  Court  plainly  understand  her 
intention  :  "  *  Sire,  if  your  Majesty  is  thinking  of  my 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  147 

establishment,  here  is  M.  de  Beziers,  who  will 
go  to  Turin  ;  he  can  negotiate  my  marriage  with 
M.  de  Savoie.' — *  I  will  think  of  you  when  it  suits 
me,  and  marry  you  when  it  will  be  of  service  to 
me,'  in  a  dry  tone  which  much  frightened  me. 
After  this,  he  saluted  me  very  coldly,  and  I  went 
away  and  I  took  my  waters." 

Mademoiselle  had  the  imprudence  both  to  talk 
and  write.  Bussy-Rabutin  even  pretends  that  "  she 
had  written  a  letter  to  the  King  of  Spain,  which 
was  intercepted,"  suggesting  a  fete  in  his  neigh- 
bourhood ;  but  this  is  difficult  to  believe,  however 
inconsiderate  Mademoiselle  sometimes  was. 

From  Forges,  Mademoiselle  went  to  the  Chateau 
d'Eu,  which  she  had  bought  a  short  time  before. 
It  was  at  this  place,  October  15,  1662,  that  she 
received  from  the  King  commands  to  return  to 
Saint-Fargeau,  "until  new  orders."  Upon  the  route 
she  met  letters  from  every  one. 

To  be  banished  for  having  refused  to  marry 
Alphonse  VI., — the  country  was  not  yet  ready  for 
these  consequences  of  the  new  regime.  It  was 
soon  known  that  Mademoiselle  had  ordered  from 
Paris  "needles,  canvas,  and  silk,"  as  if  she  ex- 
pected to  have  on  her  hands  plenty  of  spare  time. 
But  if  affairs  remained  at  this  point,  she  was  not 
paying  too  dearly  for  the  pleasure  of  escaping  be- 
ing made  Queen  of  Portugal.  This  was  her  own 
opinion,  and  she  became  very  amiable. 

The  departure  of  Mademoiselle  did  not  leave  a 


148  Louis  XIV.  and 

large  vacuum  in  the  young  Court ;  there  was  at  the 
official  ceremonies  one  princess  the  less,  and  this 
was  all.  For  the  new  generation  had  passed  with 
the  King  to  the  front  ranks ;  the  Grande  Made- 
moiselle was  now  only  the  "  old  Mademoiselle,"  as 
Abbe  de  Choisy  called  her.  The  youthful  loves 
and  the  pleasures  belonging  to  twenty  years  had 
nothing  to  do  with  her,  nor,  what  is  more,  with  the 
Queen  Mother,  who  had  in  old  age  become  a 
preacher,  and  who  now  belonged  to  the  "  devots  " 
grouped  under  her  protection. 

Moliere  by  his  impiety  scandalised  these  pious 
people  who  considered  it  wicked  for  the  King  to 
have  mistresses. 

The  question  still  waiting  to  be  solved  was,  on 
which  side  the  master  would  definitely  range  him- 
self. For  the  moment,  Louis  XIV.  leaned  very 
strongly  towards  the  friends  of  good-nature  and  of 
his  joyous  freedom.  Would  he  be  gained  over  by 
these  ?  Would  the  logic  of  events  and  ideas  lead 
him  to  shake  off  the  trammel  of  religious  prac- 
tices, then  that  of  belief,  in  the  fashion  of  Hugues 
de  Lionne,  of  the  Bussy-Rabutins,  of  the  Guiche, 
of  the  Roquelaure,  of  the  Vardes,  and  a  hundred 
other  "  Libertins,"  who  only  saw  in  the  practices 
of  religion  a  collection  of  silly  tricks  ?  The  obtain- 
ing an  answer  to  this  query  was  really  the  impor- 
tant affair  of  the  year  1662,  a  much  more  serious 
interest  than  any  preoccupation  in  regard  to  the 
chronicle  of  the  doings  at  the  Luxembourg  or  at 
Saint-Fargeau. 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  149 

The  young  Queen  was  anxious ;  she  scented 
danger,  but  she  knew  only  how  to  groan  and 
weep,  without  comprehending  that  red  eyes  and  a 
grumbling  tone  were  not  the  best  attractions  for 
retaining  a  husband.  She  had  not  even  the  con- 
solation of  being  pitied,  having  only  made  the  one 
friend,  Anne  of  Austria,  who  in  default  of  some- 
thing better,  forced  herself  to  preserve  some  il- 
lusions upon  the  melancholy  of  the  little  Queen's 
destiny. 

It  would  have  been  hard  to  find  a  better  creature 
than  Marie-Therese,  fresh  and  round,  who  leapt 
with  joy  the  day  following  her  marriage,  and  re- 
lated ingenuously  to  Mme.  de  Motteville  her  little 
romance.  Marie-Therese  had  always  remembered 
that  her  mother,1  who  died  when  she  was  only  six, 
had  repeated  that  she  desired  to  see  her  Queen  of 
France ;  that  this  was  the  only  possible  happiness, 
or,  if  not  attained,  nothing  remained  but  a  convent. 
The  little  Princess  had  grown  up  with  the  thought 
of  France.  Louis  XIV.  had  been  the  Prince  Char- 
mant  of  her  infant  dreams.  When  she  knew 
that  a  French  lord  came  "  post  haste  "  to  demand 
her  hand  for  his  master,  it  seemed  to  her  entirely 
natural.  She  had  spied  from  a  window  the  ar- 
rival of  M.  de  Gramont.2  He  had  passed  by  very 

1  Elisabeth  de  France,  daughter  of  Henry  IV.,  born  in  1602.     She  mar- 
ried Philip  IV.,  in  1615,  gave  birth  to  Marie-Therese  in  1638,  and  died 
in  1644. 

2  This  was  the  Marshal  de  Gramont,  father  of  the  Comte  de  Guiche. 
The  "magnificence"  and  the  " galanterie "  of  his  journey  to  Madrid  to  de- 
mand the  Infanta  have  left  lively  memories. 


y 


150  Louis  XIV.  and 

quickly,  followed  by  many  other  Frenchmen,  deco- 
rated with  gold  and  silver,  and  covered  with  feathers 
and  ribbons  of  all  colours.  One  might  have  said, 
"a parterre  of  flowers,  bearing  the  royal  demand," 
related  the  young  Queen,  becoming  poetical  for 
the  first  and  last  time  in  her  life. 

Once  married,  Marie-Therese  had  demanded  of 
her  husband  the  promise  that  they  should  never 
be  separated,  either  by  day  or  night,  if  it  possibly 
could  be  avoided.  Louis  XIV.  promised  and  kept 
his  word,  but  it  was  a  useless  precaution. 

According  to  Mme.  de  Motteville  and  Mme.  de 
Maintenon,1  the  Queen  did  not  know  how  to  con- 
duct herself  toward  her  husband.  She  was  stupid 
in  her  manner  of  showing  her  devotion  ;  if  the  King 
wanted  her,  she  would  refuse  to  sacrifice  a  prayer 
in  order  to  be  with  him.  She  had  also  an  "  ill- 
directed  "  jealousy ;  if  the  King  did  not  desire  her 
company,  she  did  not  sufficiently  distinguish,  in  her 
complaints,  against  those  who  wiled  him  away,  be- 
tween Mile,  de  La  Valliere  and  the  Council  of 
Ministers.  Her  ill  temper  was  discouraging.  If 
the  King  led  her  with  him,  she  complained  of  every- 
thing ;  if  he  did  not,  there  were  floods  of  tears. 
If  the  dinner  was  not  to  her  taste  she  sulked  ;  if  it 
pleased  her,  tormented  herself :  "  Everything  will 
be 'eaten,  nothing  will  be  left  for  me."  "And  the 
King  jeered  at  her,"  added  Mademoiselle,  hav- 

1  Souvenirs  de  Madame  de  Caylus,  Me"moires  de  Mme.  de  Motteville, 
Souvenirs  sur  Madame  de  Maintenon,  published  by  the  Comte  de  Hausson- 
ville  and  M.  G.  Hanotaux. 


HELENE  LAMBERT,  MADAME  DE    MOTTEVILLE 
After  the  painting  by  De  Largilliere 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  151 

ing  the  honour,  through  her  birth,  of  being  often 
found  amongst  those  who  "  eat  everything." 

Marie-Therese  was  good,  generous,  virtue  itself, 
she  had  a  violent  passion  for  her  husband,  and  with 
all  this  she  was  a  person  to  be  avoided.  Mme.  de 
Maintenon  summed  up  the  situation  in  saying  that 
"the  Queen  knew  how  to  love  but  not  how  to  please  ; 
the  reverse  of  the  King,  who  possessed  qualities 
for  pleasing  all,  without  being  capable  of  a  strong 
affection.  All  women  except  his  own  wife  were 
agreeable  to  him." 

Free-thinkers  and  debauchees  did  not  have  to 
consider  Marie-Therese ;  she  had  not  a  shadow  of 
influence  over  her  husband.  For  different  reasons, 
neither  Monsieur,  the  brother  of  the  King,  nor  the 
wife  of  Monsieur  were  any  obstacles.  Much  has 
been  said  of  the  seductive  power  of  Mme.  Henri- 
etta of  England * ;  of  her  irresistible  grace,  her 
delicate  beauty,  and  her  special  charm.  These 
characteristics,  very  rare  with  a  great  princess,  had 
proved  of  great  value  during  her  youth  of  humili- 
ating poverty,  when  she  was  reduced  to  living  as 
a  "private  person."  She  had  then  met  with  "all 
celebrities,  all  civility,  and  all  humanity,  even  upon 
ordinary  conditions,2  and  nothing  perhaps  had  con- 
tributed more  to  make  her  love  men  and  adore 
women."  Her  faults  were  great,  but  they  were 
not  weighed  against  her,  on  account  of  that  gift  of 

1  Married  on  April  i,  1661,  at  seventeen.     Monsieur  (Philippe  de  France, 
due  d'  Orleans)  was  then  twenty-one. 

8  Histoire  de  Madame  Henriette  d'  Anglelerre,  by  Mme.  de  La  Fayette. 


152  Louis  XIV.  and 

pleasing  which  was  in  her  and  which  circumstances 
had  developed.  Madame  was  a  hidden  evil  influ- 
ence, and  an  openly  dangerous  one.  She  could 
become  the  centre  of  low  Court  intrigues,  without 
losing,  or  even  risking,  the  loss  of  her  empire  over 
hearts.  To  this  first  good  fortune  was  united  that 
of  having  Bossuet  to  shelter  her  memory. 

Henrietta  of  England  has  traversed  "  centuries 
protected  by  his  [Bossuet's]  funeral  oration,"  as  she 
passed  through  her  life  protected  by  the  fascina- 
tion with  which  nature  endows  certain  women,  by 
no  means  always  the  best  ones. 

Monsieur  since  our  last  encounter  with  him  had 
not  improved.  He  had,  as  might  be  said,  publicly 
and  without  shame,  established  himself  in  vice,  and 
in  vice  of  the  worst  kind.  Marriage  had  done 
nothing  for  him.  "  The  miracle  of  inflaming  the 
heart  of  this  prince,"  discreetly  explains  Mme.  de  La 
Fayette,  "was  reserved  for  no  woman  belonging  to 
the  social  world."  1  Delivered  over  to  a  crowd  of 
very  exacting  favourites  who  never  left  him  a  mo- 
ment free  from  domestic  complications,  Monsieur 
had,  according  to  the  expressive  word  of  his  mother, 
become  indisputably  an  intriguer.  Between  Ma- 
dame and  himself,  their  court  was  a  place  of  incon- 
ceivable agitation,  a  sink  of  lies  and  calumnies,  of 
small  perfidies,  and  little  treasons,  which  make  one 
sick,  even  when  related  by  Mme.  de  La  Fayette. 

Truly,  I  hardly  know  whether  or  not  in  writing 
her  Histoire  de  Madame  Henriette  this  latter  has 

1  Histoire  de  Madame  de  Henriette,  etc. 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  153 

rendered  a  service  to  her  dear  Princess.  With  the 
exception  of  the  first  pages,  before  the  marriage, 
and  of  the  beautiful  death  scene  at  the  end,  the  rest 
is  a  tissue  of  nothings  so  contemptible  in  every  re- 
spect that  the  book  falls  from  one's  hands :  and  this 
is  all  that  the  author  of  the  Princesse  de  Cloves  has 
found  to  say  about  a  person  so  prominent ;  of  a 
sister-in-law  to  whom  Louis  XIV.  confided  political 
secrets  and  whom  he  loved  almost  too  dearly. 

Among  all  the  personages  belonging  to  the 
royal  family,  the  Libertins  had  only  to  consider 
the  Queen  Mother,  their  declared  enemy,  and  the 
King  himself,  as  yet  too  reserved  for  it  to  be  divined 
how  he  contemplated  accommodating  pleasure  and 
religion.  It  had  not  taken  long  to  perceive  that 
he  would  not  restrain  himself  in  pleasure.  He  was 
married,  June  9,  1660.  A  year  later  commenced 
the  series  of  mistresses  imposed  upon  the  royal 
household  and  upon  France,  they  and  their  children, 
in  a  fashion  which  recalls  Oriental  polygamy  rather 
than  the  manners  of  the  Occident.  Louis  XIV. 
had  felt  himself  incapable  of  a  virtuous  life.  One 
day,  when  his  mother,  profiting  by  the  tender- 
ness awakened  by  a  reconciliation  —  they  had  not 
spoken  for  some  time  to  each  other  —  represented 
the  scandal  of  his  liaison  with  Mile,  de  La  Valli&re, 
he  responded  cordially  with  tears  of  grief  which 
proceeded  from  the  bottom  of  his  heart,  where 
were  still  some  remains  of  his  former  piety, — "that 
he  knew  his  wrong;  that  he  felt  sometimes  the 
pain  and  shame  of  it ;  that  he  had  tried  his  best 


154  Louis  XIV.  and 

not  to  offend  God  and  not  to  yield  to  his  passions, 
but  he  was  forced  to  confess  that  they  were  stronger 
than  his  reason,  that  he  could  not  resist  their  vio- 
lence, and  that  he  no  longer  felt  any  desire  so  to 
do."1 

This  conversation  took  place  in  July,  1664. 
The  following  autumn,  the  King  having  found  the 
Queen,  his  wife,  in  tears  in  her  oratoire  on  account 
of  a  too-well  founded  jealousy,  he  gave  her  the 
hope  of  finding  him  at  thirty  "a  good  husband," — 
a  somewhat  cynical  suggestion. 

He  not  only  had  "  violent  passions,"  but  he  had 
not  discovered  any  reasons  for  restraining  himself 
in  regard  to  women.  One  reads  in  his  Mtmoires^ 
which  were  written  for  the  dauphin  to  see,  a  pas- 
sage worthy  of  Lord  Chesterfield,  in  which  he 
gives  his  son  his  ideas  upon  the  subject  of  kings' 
mistresses. 

The  page  referred  to  relates  to  the  year  1667, 
in  which  commenced  the  war  of  the  Devolution  : 2 

Before  departing  for  the  army,  I  sent  an  edict  to  Parlia- 
ment. I  raised  to  a  Duchy  the  territory  of  Vaujours  in  fa- 
vour of  Mile,  de  La  Valliere  and  recognised  a  daughter  of 
mine  by  her.  For,  resolving  in  accompanying  the  army  not 
to  remain  apart  from  possible  perils,  I  thought  it  just  to  assure 
to  the  child  the  honour  of  her  birth,  and  to  give  to  her  mother 
an  establishment  suitable  to  the  affection  which  since  her 
sixth  year  I  had  felt  for  her.  I  might  have  done  well  not  to 
mention  this  attachment,  the  example  of  which  is  not  good  to 
follow  ;  but  having  drawn  much  instruction  from  the  failings 

1  Me"moires  de  Mme.  de  Motteville. 

2  War  between  relations  in  regard  to  property. 


LOUISE  DE  LA   VALLIERE 
From  the  engraving  by  Flameng  after  the  painting  by  Petitot 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  155 

of  others,  I  have  not  wished  to  deprive  you  of  the  lessons  you 
may  learn  from  mine. 

The  first  instruction  to  draw  from  his  failings 
was  that  it  was  not  needful  to  waste  time  on  wo- 
men ;  "  that  the  time  devoted  to  love  should  never 
be  taken  to  the  prejudice  of  other  duties."  The 
second  consideration  was  that  in  abandoning 
the  heart  it  was  necessary  to  remain  absolute 
master  of  one's  mind :  that  the  tenderness  of 
a  lover  should  be  separated  from  the  resolutions  of 
a  sovereign  ;  that  the  fair  one  who  gives  pleasure 
should  never  be  permitted  to  speak  of  affairs,  or 
of  those  who  serve  us,  and  that  the  two  portions  of 
life  should  be  kept  entirely  apart.  "  You  will  re- 
member how  I  have  warned  you  on  various  occa- 
sions of  the  harmful  influence  of  favourites ;  that 
of  a  mistress  is  still  more  dangerous." 

Louis  XIV.  insisted  at  length  upon  the  mental 
weakness  which  makes  women  dangerous.  He  had 
studied  them  from  an  intimate  point  of  view,  and 
he  judged  "  these  animals  "  almost  as  did  Arnolphe. 
"  They  are,"  said  he  to  the  Dauphin,  "  eloquent  in 
their  expressions,  pressing  in  their  prayers,  obsti- 
nate in  their  sentiments.  No  secret  can  be  safe  with 
them.  They  always  act  with  calculation,  and  con- 
sequently use  *  cunning  and  artifice.'  However 
much  it  may  cost  to  a  loving  heart,  a  Prince  can- 
not take  too  many  'precautions'  with  his  mis- 
tresses. This  is  a  duty  imposed  upon  him  by  the 
throne  itself." 

Poor  La  Valliere,  so  disinterested,  so  little  of  an 


156  Louis  XIV.  and 

intriguer !  What  grief  if  she  had  read  these  cruel 
pages  ! 

The  counsels  we  have  just  read  are  very  politic, 
very  prudent ;  they  have  nothing  to  do  with  either 
morality  or  religion.  The  royal  Mtmoires,  in  an- 
other part  indeed,  add  that  "  the  Prince  should 
always  be  a  perfect  model  of  virtue,"  and  also  that 
it  is  a  Christian  duty  to  abstain  from  all  illicit  com- 
merce, "  which  is  almost  never  innocent" 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  Louis  XIV.  had  not  ex- 
tracted much  in  regard  to  moral  discipline  from  a 
cult  of  which  he  knew  only  the  forms.  During  his 
infancy,  his  mother  had  reserved  to  herself  his  re- 
ligious education.  She  had  led  him  at  an  early  age 
into  the  churches,  where  she  passed  a  portion  of 
each  day,  and  she  had  communicated  to  him  a  little 
of  her  narrow  and  mechanical  piety.  Louis  XIV. 
never  understood  any  other  kind.  He  knew  his 
catechism  but  little  better  than  his  Latin  grammar. 
This  ignorance  was,  perhaps,  aggravated  by  the 
fact  of  his  realising  the  need  of  a  knowledge  of 
Latin  in  order  to  read  diplomatic  despatches,  while 
he  could  see  no  use  whatever  in  knowing  the  facts 
of  religion. 

He  never  changed  in  this  respect ;  Mme.  de 
Maintenon  herself  made  vain  efforts.  The  second 
Madame,  La  Palatine,  did  not  succeed  better.  She 
wrote  :  "  If  he  only  believed  that  he  should  listen 
to  his  confessor  and  recite  his  Pater  Noster,  all 
would  go  well  and  his  devotion  would  be  perfect" 1 

1  Letter  of  July  9,  1749,  and  passim,  in  his  correspondence. 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  157 

Holding  these  ideas,  the  King  was  very  vexed, 
deified  as  he  was  by  a  crowd  of  adulators,  to  meet 
among  his  subjects  men  sufficiently  bold  to  blame 
his  conduct  and  to  frankly  tell  him  so.  Some  pre- 
lates showed  seventy.  It  belonged  to  their  profes- 
sion to  do  so.  But  that  courtiers,  and  even,  as  it 
was  related,  a  simple  bourgeois  of  Paris,  should 
dare  to  address  remonstrances  to  their  sovereign, — 
this  could  not  be  tolerated, — especially  as  their 
reproaches  excited  his  mother  against  him, — at  the 
risk  of  an  embroilment,  which  in  fact  occurred. 

As  good  politics,  if  for  no  other  reason,  Louis 
XIV.  was  resolved  not  to  permit  any  interference 
in  his  affairs.  He  felt  somewhat  vaguely  that  all 
these  people  were  uniting  to  teach  him  a  lesson. 
He  suspected  a  considerable  organised  force  be- 
hind this  Cabale  des  De'vots,  who  represented 
austerity  at  Court,  and  whom  the  Libertins  of  the 
Louvre  ridiculed. 

We  know  this  organised  force.  We  have  seen  it 
at  work  in  a  former  chapter  under  the  name  of 
The  Compagnie  du  Saint  Sacrement,  when  it  was 
engaged  with  Vincent  de  Paul  in  the  great  chari- 
table undertakings  of  the  century.1  The  malevolent 
nickname  of  Cabale  des  Divots  had  been  given, 
towards  the  year  1658,  by  the  many  who  abomin- 
ated the  society  without  knowing  its  true  title  or 
its  organisation,  simply  because  it  disturbed  the 
course  of  their  own  existence. 

Since  the  date  at  which  we  last  saw  the  organisa- 

1  Cf.  La  Cabale  des  Devots,  by  M.  Raoul  Allier. 


158  Louis  XIV.  and 

tion  at  work,  the  management  had  been  offering  the 
same  mixture  of  good  and  evil. 

Everything  that  it  had  done  for  the  relief  of  the 
poor,  the  prisoners,  the  galley  slaves,  and  other 
miserable  beings,  to  protect  them  against  abuse 
and  tyranny,  and  to  raise  them  morally,  had  been 
above  all  praise  ;  as  had  also  its  efforts  to  assure  a 
certain  amount  of  decency  in  the  streets,  or  to  com- 
bat in  the  higher  classes  the  two  curses  of  the  time, 
duels  and  gambling.  As  much  cannot  be  said  of 
the  narrow  and  fanatical  opinions  which  rendered 
it  a  persecutor  and  police  agent,  of  its  taste  for 
spying  or  accusing,  of  its  barbarity  in  regard  to 
heretics  and  men  of  genius.  It  easily  became  dan- 
gerous and  malignant,  and  it  was  difficult  to  find 
defence  against  this  occult  power  which  had  "  eyes 
and  ears  everywhere."  Mazarin,  whom  it  secretly 
tormented  through  anonymous  letters,  had  sought 
and  pursued  it  with  eagerness,  and  during  the  last 
months  of  his  life  the  society  was  forced  to  hide 
itself.  After  the  death  of  the  Cardinal,  the  Com- 
pagnie  again  put  itself  in  motion,  and  it  is  evident 
that  it  had  regained  confidence,  for  with  only  the 
Queen  Mother  for  its  friend  it  dared  to  attack  the 
King. 

At  this  epoch,  Anne  of  Austria  is  a  very  inter- 
esting person.  The  Compagnie  du  Saint  Sacre- 
ment  had  become  a  political  party  since  it  tried  to 
make  sure  of  the  King,  and  if  it  had  succeeded,  the 
history  of  the  entire  reign  would  have  been  altered. 
Delivered  to  its  influence,  the  State  would  not  have 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  159 

delayed  until  the  Great  Revolution  to  trouble  its 
conscience  about  the  duties  towards  the  people  at 
large. 

The  imprudence  of  the  conduct  of  the  society 
towards  the  King,  and  his  indiscretions,  gave  the 
game  to  the  Libertins.  They  did  not  despair,  con- 
sidering the  discontent  of  the  King,  of  attracting 
him  to  themselves,  to  their  incredulity,  their  lack 
of  docility  towards  religious  belief,  and  in  truth, 
without  going  to  the  point  of  regretting  their  final 
check,  we  can  hardly  be  sorry  that  this  "  routine 
intelligence  "  should  have  received  a  slight  shock. 

The  mind  of  Louis  XIV.,  so  remarkable  for  its 
justice  and  solidity,  was  the  opposite  of  the  modern 
mind  in  its  total  absence  of  curiosity  and  in  the 
difficulty  of  changing  its  point  of  view.  The  King 
had  need  of  skeptical  reading.  As  he  never  read, 
the  assaults  of  the  Libertins  rendered  him  the  ser- 
vice of  slightly  moving  his  ideas ;  they  deranged 
him  in  his  habits  of  mechanical  practices. 

Olivier  d'Ormesson,  who  was  of  the  Compagnie 
du  Saint  Sacrement,  wrote,  after  the  Pentecost  of 
1664,  "that  the  King  had  not  performed  his  devo- 
tions at  the  f£te,  and  that  Monsieur  having  de- 
manded if  he  intended  to  '  practice,'  he  had  replied 
that  he  was  no  longer  going  to  be  a  hypocrite  like 
himself,  who  was  confessing  only  to  please  the 
Queen  Mother."1 

The  conscience  of  the  King  was  passing  through 
a  crisis  ;  every  one  felt  this.  In  the  presence  of  an 

1  Journal cT Olivier  Leftvre  d'Ormesson. 


160  Louis  XIV.  and 

event  of  such  importance,  the  misfortunes  of  the 
Grande  Mademoiselle,  already  but  little  in  the 
thoughts  of  the  rising  generation,  completely  lost 
interest.  Everything  was  forgotten. 

During  the  first  months  of  her  exile,  Mademoi- 
selle was  occupied  in  opposing  the  King.  Louis 
XIV.  had  not  abandoned  the  idea  of  marry- 
ing her  to  Alphonse  VI.,  and  Turenne  was  en- 
deavouring to  make  her  "  reasonable,"  from  which 
resulted  an  "  interchange  of  letters  "  and  of  official 
visits  which  had  the  good  side  of  breaking  the 
monotony  at  Saint-Fargeau.  This  time,  the  life 
there  was  very  dull.  The  old  animation  had  not 
returned.  Too  proud  to  avow  it,  Mademoiselle 
expressed  herself  cheerfully  in  her  letters.  On 
November  9,  1662,  she  wrote  to  Bussy-Rabutin  : 
"  I  believe  that  the  sojourn  which  I  shall  make 
here  will  be  longer  than  you  desire.  If  I  were  not 
afraid  of  appearing  too  indifferent,  I  should  say 
that  I  care  but  little.  Perhaps  this  would  be  true ; 
but  it  is  not  well  to  always  speak  the  truth."1 

Her  Mtmoires  are  more  sincere.  She  relates  that 
at  the  end  of  five  months,  she  wrote  to  the  King 
that  she  should  die  if  she  remained  longer ;  that  it 
was  an  unhealthy  place  on  account  of  the  marshes 
by  which  the  chateau  was  surrounded  ;  that  she 
"  did  not  believe  herself  to  have  done  anything 
which  merited  death,  and  such  a  death,  .  .  . 
and  if  he  wished  her  to  make  a  long  penitence  for 
the  crimes  which  she  had  not  committed,  she  sup- 

1  Mdmoires  de  Bussy-Rabutin. 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  161 

plicated  him  to  permit  her  to  go  to  EU."  Louis 
XIV.  permitted  EU,  but  made  Mademoiselle  under- 
stand that  he  had  not  renounced  the  project  of 
marriage  with  the  King  of  Portugal,  and  that  he 
hoped  to  lead  her,  through  his  kindness,  "to  the 
sentiments  she  should  have."  She  did  not  delay  to 
discuss  the  matter.  "  I  departed  at  once  and 
quitted  Saint-Fargeau  without  regret."  This  was 
a  final  adieu. 

Mademoiselle  had  just  bought  the  Comte  d'Eu, 
under  circumstances  which  show  how  the  landed 
and  manorial  estates  of  the  ancient  regime,  which 
from  a  distance  appear  so  solid,  were  in  reality 
held  by  the  most  fragile  tenure  and  at  the  mercy 
of  any  accident.  The  Comte  d'Eu  was  the  prop- 
erty of  the  illustrious  and  powerful  family  of  Guise. 
In  1654,  the  proprietor  of  the  moment,  Louis  de 
Lorraine,  due  de  Joyeuse,  was  killed  at  the  siege 
of  Arras,  leaving  an  only  son  of  youthful  age,  Louis 
Joseph  de  Lorraine,  Prince  de  Joinville.  This 
child  had  for  guardian  his  aunt,  Mile,  de  Guise, 
an  intelligent  and  important  person,  the  oracle  of 
the  family,  says  Saint-Simon.  He  had  also  two 
other  guardians,  one  of  whom,  Claude  de  Bourde- 
ville,  Comte  de  Montresor,  had  secretly  married 
Mile,  de  Guise.  These  three  guardians  soon  per- 
ceived that  they  were  powerless  to  defend  the  in- 
terests confided  to  them.  The  Comte  d'Eu  was 
burdened  with  two  million  francs  of  debt,  a  figure 
which  would  not  have  led  to  disaster  if  the  Due  de 
Joyeuse  had  been  there  to  make  his  rights  respected 


162  Louis  XIV.  and 

and  to  reclaim  his  share  of  the  monarchical  manna  ; 
such  as  pensions,  gratifications  of  the  King,  bene- 
fices, governments,  Court  charges.  But  he  was 
dead,  and  the  property  of  the  minor  had  been  put 
to  the  quarry,  by  the  people  of  affairs  on  the  one 
hand,  and  the  Norman  peasants  on  the  other. 
Against  these  business  sharks,  the  guardians  were 
obliged,  after  years  of  struggle,  to  invoke  the  aid 
of  Parliament  They  addressed  a  petition l  in 
which  they  stated  that  their  ward,  because  he  was 
a  child  "  destitute  of  the  powerful  means  "  which 
his  father  would  have  possessed,  had  become  the 
victim  of  usurers  and  rogues.  The  two  million 
debt  of  the  Comte  d'Eu  had  been  largely  bought 
up  by  artificial  and  suspicious  creditors,  with  whom 
it  was  impossible  to  arrive  at  any  settlement. 

These  fishers  in  troubled  waters  had  brought 
the  disorder  to  its  height  in  practising  seizures.  The 
entire  revenue  was  exhausted  by  expenses.  The 
guardians  besought  Parliament  to  extricate  them 
from  this  slough  in  ordering  a  replevin  "  of  all  the 
seizures  and  judgments,  and  in  according  that  there 
should  be  a  reprieve  from  all  prosecutions  and 
executions  against  them  during  two  years."  They 
hoped  with  this  respite  to  arrive  at  a  general 
liquidation. 

Against  the  Norman  peasants  no  one  saw  any- 
thing to  do  but  quickly  to  outwit  them  through  the 

1 A  nos  Seigneurs  de  Parlement. — Archives  of  the  Chateau  of  Eu.  Mgr. 
le  Due  d'  Orleans  has  thrown  open  to  me  the  Archives  of  Eu  with  a 
liberality  for  which  I  here  heartily  express  my  gratitude. 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  163 

sale  of  the  Comte  d'Eu  to  a  master  capable  of 
overawing  them.  The  difficulty,  under  the  condi- 
tions in  France  at  that  time,  was  to  find  a  person 
of  quality  able  to  dispose  of  several  millions. 

Mademoiselle,  who  always  had  money,  had  at 
once  been  thought  of.  At  first,  she  was  tod  occu- 
pied in  fighting  her  father,  but  the  idea  struck  her 
favourably,  and  as  soon  as  her  hands  were  free  she 
remembered  the  suggestion.  The  bargain  was 
concluded  in  1657.  This  affair  did  not  suit  the 
pettifoggers.  There  were  so  many  opposing 
clauses,  so  many  legal  complications,  so  many 
lawsuits,  and  so  many  decrees  needed  in  order  to 
place  Mademoiselle  in  power,  and  to  make  it  pos- 
sible for  her  to  possess  Eu  in  due  form,  that  years 
rolled  by,  as  the  petition  of  the  two  guardians  testi- 
fies, before  the  peasants  of  Eu  were  deranged  in 
their  work  of  moles.  During  the  delay,  they  had 
continued  to  devour  the  substance  of  the  princely 
orphan,  aided  it  must  be  said  by  other  Normans 
not  peasants,  who  did  not  show  themselves  more 
scrupulous  or  less  avaricious. 

How  both  gentles  and  peasants  acted  can  be  ex- 
actly known  through  the  Archives  of  Eu.  At  the 
time  of  the  guardian  petition,  Mademoiselle  had 
sent  one  of  her  men  to  take  account  of  the  state  of 
affairs. 

The  report  of  the  agent,  completed  by  other 
business  papers,1  establishes  that  the  Comte  of  Eu 

1  Declaration  par  le  Menu  du  ComtJ  d' Eu  (May  8,  1660),  and  Inventoire 
gdnfraldu  Comttd'Eu  (July  i,  1663). 


1 64  Louis  XIV.  and 

drew  more  than  half  its  revenue  from  its  forest. 
This  forest,  which  still  exists,  contains  from  ten  to 
eleven  thousand  acres,1  is  eight  to  nine  leagues 
long,  and  should  have  been  formed  of  trees  of 
all  ages,  if  the  inhabitants  had  not  worked  so  in- 
dustriously that  it  was  difficult  to  find  a  "  piece  of 
timber."  It  was,  at  the  date  of  which  we  are  speak- 
ing, only  underwood,  and  often  only  scrub  bushes, 
on  account  of  the  cattle  which  "  damaged  it."  The 
entire  neigbourhood  had  contributed  to  this  extra- 
ordinary destruction  of  a  forest  of  eight  leagues. 

The  inhabitants  of  twenty  villages,  several  ab- 
beys, gentlemen,  priests,  simple  private  people 
had  come,  under  pretext  of  "  ancient  rights,"  to 
take  the  wood  as  if  it  belonged  to  them.  The 
guards  of  the  forest  and  their  relatives  and  friends 
had  likewise  helped  themselves.  The  officials  of 
the  domain  had  cut,  wrongly  or  rightly,  what  the 
public  had  left,  and  to  complete  the  ruin  of  the 
woods,  every  one  had  sent  cows  or  pigs  to  run 
through  the  young  bushes. 

The  agent  of  Mademoiselle  concluded  that  it 
was  absolutely  needful  to  stop  this  pillage,  or  even 
"  fifty  thousand  francs'  worth  of  wood  could  never 
be  secured  annually."  He  pointed  out  other 
abuses  ;  in  the  absence  of  a  firm  hand  the  nature  of 
seignorial  privilege  rendered  these  inevitable.  I 
have  myself  seen  many  tables  of  the  revenues  of 
the  Comte  Eu  in  the  seventeenth  century.  The 
frauds  must  have  been  easy  and  tempting,  the  col- 

1  The  Norman  acre  contains  81  acres  and  71  centiares 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  165 

lecting  of  imposts  most  costly.  One  notes  a  pay- 
ment due  at  Christmas,  in  money  and  material,  by 
inhabitants,  possessors  of  any  real  estate,  "  house 
or  hovel,"  field  or  garden  : 

"  Francis  Guignon  of  the  village  of  Cyrel  owes  40  sols  2 
capons,  on  account  of  a  house  in  the  said  Cyrel."  "  Fran9ois 
de  Buc  .  .  .  owes  8  sols  a  third  of  a  capon,  on  account 
of  a  house."  "  Guillaume  Fumechon  .  .  .  owes  43  sols 
and  2  capons  on  account  of  half  an  acre  of  land."  "  The 
heirs  of  Jean  Dree  owe  8  sols  and  the  half  of  a  capon." 
"Jean  Rose  31  sols,  2  fowls  and  n  eggs,  on  account  of 
meadow  lands."  "The  Sieur  de  Saint-lgny  of  Mesnil  at 
Caux  owes  4  francs  9  sols,  10  bushels  of  wheat  and  the  same 
quantity  of  oats."  "  Alizon  owes  3  sols,  6  deniers  and  one 
third  of  a  capon."  A  cultivator  owes  "  78  quarts  of  wheat,  15 
bushels  of  oats  and  a  fowl."  Another  "  2  bushels  i  quart  of 
oats  and  a  quarter  of  a  goose."  Another  "  5  quarters  of  a 
goose," 

and  so  on  through  350  folio  pages. 

The  impost  called  " du  tr avers"  was  enforced 
upon  merchandise  entering  Eu  by  the  gate  of 
Picardy.  So  much  was  paid  by  chariot  or  loaded 
horse.  Butchers  paid  for  "  every  head  of  cattle,  sow, 
or  pig,  one  denier,  for  each  white  beast,  an  obole  "  ; 
vendors  of  fish  for  each  basket  borne  upon  the  arm, 
"  2  deniers  " ;  furriers  for  each  skin,  an  obole. 

Then  comes  the  impost  "  upon  the  *  old  clothes/ 
or  *  dyed  materials '  for  which  is  due  for  every  bed 
sold  in  the  city  of  Eu,  new  or  old,  4  deniers ;  and 
for  each  robe,  doublet,  or  pair  of  stockings,  or  any 
other  article  for  the  use  of  man  or  woman,  when 
sold,  i  denier." 


i66  Louis  XIV.  and 

The  linen  merchant  also  owed  one  denier,  upon 
pain  of  amend,  for  each  cut  sold.  There  was  levied 
a  tax  upon  the  measuring  of  grain  and  the  weigh- 
ing of  merchandise.  The  mills  were  the  property 
of  the  Lord  of  Eu,  and  grinding  was  not  permitted 
except  for  him.  The  agent  of  Mademoiselle  re- 
commended the  enforcing  of  this,  which  had  been 
neglected,  with  the  result  of  diminished  revenue. 

The  fishers  of  Treport  paid  500  herrings  at 
each  drawing  of  the  nets ;  outsiders  who  came  to 
fish  in  the  Treport,  100  herrings.  All  stray  animals 
not  reclaimed  before  one  year  belonged  to  the  Lord 
of  Eu,  and  all  royal  fish,  like  sturgeons,  whales, 
porpoises,  8  "ones  de  mer"  and  other  large  fish. 

This  is  not  all,  but  it  is  sufficient  to  explain  the 
rapidity  with  which  the  revenue  of  a  seignorial 
property  melted  away  when  the  master  was  not 
there  to  make  the  little  world  afraid,  to  solicit 
judges,  in  case  of  lawsuits,  according  to  the  usage, 
and  to  apply  to  the  King  in  need,  for  an  important 
person,  having,  according  to  the  popular  expression, 
"the  long  arm." 

Both  evil  and  possible  remedy  were  known.  The 
deplorable  state  in  which  affairs  had  been  found 
had  not  at  all  disturbed  the  agent  of  Mademoiselle. 
Knowing  his  mistress,  he  did  not  doubt  that  she 
would  get  the  better  of  the  Normans,  and  he  pre- 
dicted success.  "  When  everything  is  put  in  order," 
said  he,  "  (as  appears  will  easily  be  accomplished) 
the  Comte  of  Eu  will  be  a  profitable  estate  yield- 
ing a  great  revenue."  The  use  of  the  word 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  167 

41  easily  "  was  a  slight  exaggeration.  The  Comte 
of  Eu  was  finally  "  adjudged  "  to  Mademoiselle  de 
Montpensier,  by  "  decree "  of  the  Parliament  of 
Paris,  August  20,  1660,  for  the  sum  of  2,550,000 
francs.  She  undertook  at  once  to  save  the  rem- 
nants of  the  forest  and  found  the  population 
leagued  against  her  to  guard  its  prey. 

At  the  end  of  six  months,  Mademoiselle  felt  that 
she  was  hardly  strong  enough  for  the  task,  and  ad- 
dressed herself  to  the  King.1  She  explained  to 
him  that  for  the  surveillance  of  her  forest  she  had 
established  a  numerous  guard  which  "  cost  much  to 
support,"  but  that  the  inhabitants  had 

formed  the  habit  of  entering  boldly  into  the  said  forest  and  of 
committing  all  sorts  of  misdemeanours,  boasting  that  they 
would  continue  so  to  do;  that  they  had  just  killed  with  a  gun 
shot  in  his  stomach,  one  of  her  guards  for  having  tried  to 
prevent  a  theft  of  wood;  that  they  were  threatening  others  to 
have  them  appointed  collectors  of  imposts,  which  would  leave 
them  no  time  to  guard;  that  they  taxed  them  as  peasants,  also 
with  other  impositions;  that,  in  one  word,  the  best  was  done 
to  render  the  position  of  guard  untenable. 

Mademoiselle  consequently  begged  the  King 
that  he  would  particularly  forbid  the  inhabitants 
to  carry  arms  or  to  have  them  in  their  homes,  and, 
on  the  other  hand,  that  he  would  permit  her  guards 
to  be  armed.  She  reclaimed  for  them  also  certain 
privileges  which  would  enable  them  to  punish  de- 
linquents. Louis  XIV.  accorded  all,  and  it  proved 
possible  to  stop  the  depredations.  On  the  death 

1  Her  request  to  the  King  was  dated  February  9,  1661  (Archives  of  Eu). 


i68  Louis  XIV.  and 

of  Mademoiselle,  the  forest  of  Eu  was  again  filled 
with  full-grown  trees. 

As  to  suppressing  the  "  rights,"  it  was  useless  to 
be  first  cousin  to  the  King ;  this  could  not  be  ac- 
complished. All  that  could  be  done  was  to  pre- 
vent these  rights  multiplying  and  to  limit  as  far  as 
practicable  their  exactions.  Between  the  possess- 
ors of  these  "  rights"  and  the  proprietor,  there  was 
a  chronic  state  of  hostility. 

There  still  exist  special  "  rights "  in  France ; 
every  one  can  for  himself  observe  the  inconvenience 
of  the  system.  The  only  one  of  those  interested 
who  derived  no  profits  from  the  game  was  the  little 
Prince  de  Joinville,  his  creditors  having  continued 
their  manoeuvres  to  avoid  any  settlement. 

On  March  27,  1661,  the  Parliament  of  Paris  ren- 
dered a  decree  which  obliged  them  to  accept  pay- 
ment. Eight  years  had  elapsed  since  the  death  of 
the  Due  de  Joyeuse.  The  budget  of  debts  had 
reached  the  sum  of  two  millions  of  francs.1  When 
all  was  finally  settled,  instead  of  having  a  balance 
for  their  ward,  the  guardians  found  themselves  in 
face  of  a  deficit  of  more  than  1 50,000  francs. 

We  have  already  seen  how  Gaston,  in  his  posi- 
tion as  chief  of  the  House,  had  boldly  pillaged  the 
fortune  of  his  minor  daughter.  In  the  present 
case,  on  the  contrary,  it  was  the  loss  of  the  father 
which  had  given  opportunity  for  the  spoliation 

1  The  debts  amounted  exactly  to  2,700,718  frs.  18  sols.  (Liste  des  Cr/an- 
ciers  in  Archives  of  the  Chateau  of  Eu).  It  will  be  remembered  that  Made- 
moiselle paid  for  Eu  2,550,000  frs. 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  169 

of  a  child.  Mazarin  had  left  Gaston  alone  as  a 
punishment  to  Mademoiselle  for  her  conduct  dur- 
ing the  Fronde.  Louis  XIV.  seems  to  have  taken 
little  interest  in  the  offshoot  of  the  turbulent  and 
ambitious  family  of  Guise.  In  both  cases,  the 
favourable  or  unfavourable  attitude  of  royalty  had 
decided  the  issue  of  an  affair  of  money. 

Mademoiselle  took  official  possession  of  Eu  on 
August  24,  1 66 1.  An  entry  such  as  she  loved  had 
been  arranged,  with  procession,  banners,  Venetian 
lanterns,  speeches,  musket  salutes,  and  the  firing  of 
cannon  from  all  the  artillery  in  the  city1  —  one 
dozen  pieces  of  cannon  and  forty  boetes  upon  the 
ramparts  and  eight  cannon  and  forty  boetes  upon 
the  terrace  of  the  chateau.  Mademoiselle  returned 
the  following  year,  but  only  actually  installed  her- 
self at  Eu  in  1663  after  having  obtained  permission 
to  leave  Saint-Fargeau  :  "  I  am  resolved  to  pass 
my  winter  here,  without  any  chagrin  at  the  thought." 
She  watched  her  workmen,  walked  a  great  deal, 
and  busied  herself  in  the  domestic  offices.  She 
also  received  visits  :  "  There  were  many  provincial 
people,  reasonable  enough  ;  a  number  of  persons  of 
rank  ;  but  my  heart  was  heavy.  Comedians  came 
to  offer  themselves ;  but  I  was  in  no  humour  for 
them.  I  began  to  be  discouraged.  I  read ;  I 
worked  ;  days  were  occupied  in  writing ;  all  these 
things  made  the  time  pass  insensibly." 

This  page  of  the  Mtmoires  permits  a  glimpse  of 

1  The  account  of  the  entry  of  Mademoiselle  is  in  the  Archives  of  the 
Chateau  of  Eu. 


1 70  Louis  XIV.  and 

a  rather  restricted  life.  A  letter  from  Mademoi- 
selle to  Bussy-Rabutin  confirms  and  accentuates 
the  impression : 

Eu,  November  28,  1663. 

Here  is  the  single  response  to  your  letters.  I  claim  that  you 
should  write  four  to  my  one,  and  I  believe  that  this  will  be 
better  for  you;  for  what  can  one  send  from  a  desert  like  this, 
in  which  one  sees  no  one  all  winter,  the  roads  being  impracti- 
cable for  people  from  a  distance,  from  Paris  for  instance,  and 
the  winds  being  so  strong  on  the  plains  through  which  neigh- 
bours must  pass  that  the  north-west  wind  is  feared  by  all  as 
a  furious  beast. 

The  situation  of  the  Chateau  d'Eu  is  melancholy 
enough,  the  sea  wind  truly  "  ferocious  "  in  the  en- 
virons. The  gazettes  from  Paris  were  filled  with 
descriptions  of  fetes  and  visions  of  glory,  which 
contrasted  with  the  mediocrity  of  a  provincial  court. 
Mademoiselle  had  in  vain  decided  not  to  be  bored. 
She  discovered  that  she,  like  the  rest  of  France, 
had  no  life  far  from  the  King ;  there  was  nothing 
left  but  shadow. 

In  the  memorable  conversation  in  which  Louis 
XIV.  avowed  to  his  mother  that  he  was  no  longer 
master  of  his  passions,  Anne  of  Austria  had  warned 
him  that  he  was  "too  intoxicated  with  his  own 
grandeur."  *  She  spoke  truly  ;  the  infatuation  had 
been  rapid.  The  excuse  for  the  King  was  the  fact 
that  the  entire  world  shared  in  his  self-admiration. 
It  is  not  our  plan  to  give  any  account  of  the  in- 
ternal government,  or  of  diplomatic  action,  which 
relates  to  the  early  attempts  of  Louis  XIV.,  so 

1  Motteville. 


JEAN  BAPTISTE  COLBERT 
After  the  painting  by  Champaign 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  171 

fruitful  in  great  results  and  so  glorious  for  himself. 
We  limit  ourselves  to  stating  the  fact.  The  superi- 
ority of  France  is  manifested  in  the  first  contact 
with  England  and  Spain,  and  was  not  less  clearly 
felt  on  the  other  side  of  the  Rhine.  Louis,  says  a 
German  historian,  possessed  an  influence  in  the 
German  Empire,  at  least  in  its  western  portions, 
equal  if  not  superior  to  the  authority  of  the 
Emperor.  1 

Strangers  were  almost  always  struck  by  the 
solicitude  of  his  government  for  artisans  and  com- 
mercial people. 

Without  doubt,  sentimental  reasons  did  not  count 
for  much  ;  when  Colbert  forbade  the  collectors  of 
taxes  to  take  the  cattle  from  the  labourers,  he  was 
simply  applying  in  the  name  of  the  King  the  prin- 
ciples of  a  good  business  man  who  considers  his 
debtor.  But  the  benefit  was  no  less  great.  From 
whatever  point  of  view  one  looked,  France  gave  to 
other  nations  the  impression  of  a  progressive  peo- 
ple. It  was  recognised  that  she  had  taken  the 
position  of  head  of  Europe.  The  country  at  large 
felt  this.  It  very  justly  considered  this  upward 
flight  due  to  the  personal  efforts  of  its  young  King, 
and  was  grateful  for  his  enormous  labour. 

Louis  well  understood  this.  It  was  a  "  party 
cry "  to  insist  on  all  occasions  upon  the  trouble 
which  he  took  in  his  "  trade  of  King  "  and  the  great 
fatigues  which  he  endured  for  the  public  good. 
The  Gazette,  as  an  official  journal,  never  failed  to 

1  Histoire  de  France,  by  Leopold  Ranke. 


172  Louis  XIV.  and 

emphasise  this.  Every  event  was  coloured  to 
this  end. 

Apropos  of  a  trip  of  eight  days,  the  journal 
wrote  1 :  "  This  Prince,  as  indefatigable  as  Hercules 
in  his  labours,"  etc.  It  justified  the  royal  ballets, 
which  were  most  costly,  by  the  excuse  of  the  ex- 
cessive brain  work  of  the  chief  of  state. 

"  On  the  eighth  [January,  1663],  the  King, 
wearied  with  the  pains  with  which  His  Majesty 
works  so  indefatigably  for  the  welfare  of  his  sub- 
jects, enjoyed  in  the  palace  of  the  Cardinal  the 
diversion  of  a  ballet  of  seven  acts,  called  the  Ballet 
des  Arts" 

Louis  XIV.  danced  in  the  Ballet  des  Arts  three 
times;  Miles,  de  Valliere,  de  Sevigne,  and  de  Morte- 
mart  had  a  lively  success  in  it ;  the  latter  was  on 
the  eve  of  becoming  Mme.  de  Montespan.2  The 
accounts  of  the  representations  of  the  new  ballet 
alternate  in  the  Gazette  with  the  funeral  ceremonies 
in  honour  of  a  daughter  of  the  King  and  Queen, 
who  died  at  six  weeks  of  age  on  December  3oth. 

Louis  XIV.  had  wept  over  his  loss  with  that 
superficial  sensibility  in  which  he  resembles,  strange 
as  it  seems,  the  philosophers  of  the  seventeenth 
century.  He  could  have  given  points  to  Diderot 
in  regard  to  the  facility  of  pouring  out  torrents  of 
tears,  and  he  often  astonished  the  Court  by  his 
emotion.  He  deceived  the  Queen  from  morning 
till  evening,  and  he  cried  to  see  her  weep  when  he 

1  Numtro  of  September  14,  1663. 

2  The  marriage  took  place  on  January  28th. 


o  3 


£    w 

u    .5 

t     | 

c 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  1 73 

quitted  her.     He  brought  forth  crocodile  tears  for 
the  death  of  his  father-in-law.1     In  a  turn  of  the. 
hand,  again  like  Diderot,  he  forgot  his  existence, 
and  lost  on  his  account  neither  a  step  in  the  dance 
nor  a  galant  rendezvous. 

To  the  ballet  succeeded  other  "  relaxations,"  and 
it  is  curious  to  see  the  Gazette  taking  the  pains  to 
explain  that  the  King  had  well  earned  a  simple 
trip  for  pleasure  (April  7,  1663):  "  This  week  the 
King,  in  order  to  gain  some  relief  from  the  con- 
tinual application  for  the  establishing  the  felicity 
of  his  subjects,  has  enjoyed  the  diversion  of  a 
little  journey  to  Saint-Germain-en-Laye  and  to 
Versailles." 

The  mundane  chronicles2  falling  into  line,  Louis 
XIV.  saw  his  "glory  "  as  a  great  worker  ascending 
into  the  clouds,  together  with  his  "glory"  as  a 
man  of  war,  and  in  one  word  as  ''universal  hero." 
He  could  not  even  exercise  his  musketeers  with- 
out the  Gazette  s  issuing  an  extra  leaf  upon  the 
"admiration  of  all  spectators."3 

All  France  struck  the  same  note.  When  he  went 
to  take  possession  of  Dunkerque,4  he  passed  before 
a  plaster  Olympus,  fabricated  for  the  occasion. 
"  He  witnessed  Neptune,  who  respectfully  lowered 

1  Philippe  IV.  died  September  17,  1665. 

2  Cf.  La  Relation  des  Divertissements  que  le  Roi  a  donnhaux  Reims,  etc., 
by  Marigny  (June,  1664). 

3  Number   of  July,  21,  1663,  and  passim. 

4  Louis  XIV.  had  bought  Dunkerque  from  the  King  of  England.     The 
city  was  delivered  November  27,  1662.     For  account  of  the  entrance  of  the 
King,  see  the  Gazette. 


174  Louis  XIV.  and 

his  trident ;  the  spirits  of  the  Earth  and  Sea  pro- 
strated before  this  mighty  Prince  " — that  is  to  say, 
himself,  and  he  permitted  his  official  journal  to  re- 
gale the  country  with  these  follies ;  it  was  clear  in 
his  eyes  that  Neptune  and  his  Court  only  did  their 
duty.  Every  one  was  prepared  to  deify  him,  and 
he  received  this  homage  with  pleasure.  This  at- 
mosphere of  worship  was  very  harmful  to  a  man 
born  with  much  good  sense  and  with  many  superior 
parts.  The  brilliancy  of  his  Court,  for  which  he 
was  considered  responsible,  contributed  also  to  the 
general  dazzle. 

The  surging  crowd  of  twenty  years  later  did 
not  yet  exist,  when  the  Chateau  of  Versailles  was 
finished,  and  Louis  XIV.  held  his  nobility  lodged 
under  his  own  hand,1  only  moving  from  his  side  to 
make  a  campaign.  The  young  Court  was  only 
numerous  at  intervals.  It  will  shortly  be  seen  how 
much  it  had  increased  in  May,  1664.  On  the  27th 
of  the  following  month,  the  Due  d'Enghien  wrote 
from  Fontainbleau  :  "  There  are  almost  no  women 
here,  and  but  few  men.  Never  has  the  Court  been 
so  small."  2  On  August  i6th,  also  at  Fontainbleau, 
the  Queen  Mother  gave  a  ball ;  she  had  only  sixteen 
ladies  and  as  many  men.3  In  October,  the  Court 
is  at  Paris,  and  the  King  gives  a  fete:  "The  ball 
was  not  fine,"  writes  the  grand  Conde,  "the  greater 

1  Louis  XIV.  was  installed  at  Versailles,  as  a  residence,  May  6,  1682. 

2  Letter  to  the  Queen  of  Poland,  Marie  de  Gonzague  (Archives  of  Chan- 
tilly).     The  Due  d'Enghien  had  married,  December  n,   1663,  Anne  de 
Bariere,  daughter  of  the  Princess  Palatine  and  niece  of  Marie  de  Gonzague. 

3  Journal d* Olivier  d"1  Ormesson. 


C/2 


,0 

o   | 

Q 


a      r-; 

l  &> 


^    j= 

\\ 

to    ^ 

UJ 

ae 
I 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  175 

number  of  the  ladies  being  still  in  the  country.  In 
all  Paris,  only  fourteen  could  be  found." 1 

During  these  first  years,  the  nobility  was  not  yet 
encouraged  to  leave  all,  to  come  to  live  under  the 
shadow  of  the  throne.  Those  having  provincial 
charges  "  obtained  with  difficulty  leave  of  absence." 2 
Those  lacking  money  to  appear  with  fitting  mag- 
nificence had  little  aid  to  expect  from  royalty ;  the 
shower  of  gold  did  not  begin  to  fall  until  later,  and 
Louis  XIV.  even  passed  for  being  close-fisted. 

"  Besides  his  natural  temperament,"  said  Conde, 
"  which  is  not  given  to  lavishness,  he  is  held  back 
by  M.  Colbert,  who  is  still  less  given  to  spending, 
particularly  when  he  is  not  persuaded  of  the  ad- 
vantage of  the  affair  for  which  money  must  be  scat- 
tered."3 It  is  well  known  that  Colbert  did  not  love 
waste  ;  but  he  did  know  how  to  be  liberal,  even  for 
expenses  of  luxury.  No  one  was  more  convinced 
of  the  advantage  of  display  for  a  sovereign,  and  he 
spared  neither  pains  nor  state  pennies  in  making 
the  grand  festivals  with  which  his  master  enter- 
tained the  Court  and  city,  unrivalled  in  Europe. 
And  they  were  unparalleled,  especially  in  the  early 
years  when  tastes,  like  everything  else,  were  young. 
Even  the  faults,  by  which  perhaps  the  tastes  were 
benefited,  were  youthful. 

What  is  called  impulse  with  the  very  young  man 

1  Letter  of  October  3ist  to  the  Queen  of  Poland  (Archives  of  Chantilly). 

2  Cf.  De  La  Valtilre  a  Montespan,  by  Jean  Lemoine  and  Andre  Lichten- 
berger. 

3  Letter  dated  December  28,  1663,  to  the  Queen  of  Poland  (Archives  of 
Chantilly). 


176  Louis  XIV.  and 

takes  the  name  of  vice  with  the  mature,  and,  what- 
ever may  be  said,  the  one  is  much  uglier  than  the 
other. 

Louis  XIV.  was  only  twenty-three  when  he  fell 
in  love  with  Mile,  de  La  Valliere,  and  the  festivities 
which  he  offered  in  her  honour  expressed  this  fresh- 
ness. There  were  exquisite  fairy  scenes  with  the 
light  decorations  of  flowers  and  leaves.  The  most 
famous,  on  account  of  Moliere's  partial  authorship, 
was  called  the  Plaisirs  de  rile  enchant^e,  which 
was  given  at  Versailles  in  May,  1664.  It  lasted 
three  days,  and  was  prolonged  three  days  more,  in 
spite  of  the  great  number  of  invitations  and  the 
difficulties  occasioned  by  the  immense  crowd.  The 
Court,  says  a  "  Relation," 1  arrived  the  fifth  of 
May,  and  the  King  entertained  till  the  fourteenth 
six  hundred  guests,  beside  a  quantity  of  people 
needed  for  the  dance  and  comedy,  and  of  artisans 
of  all  sorts  from  Paris,  so  numerous  that  it  appeared 
a  small  army. 

All  now  known  of  Versailles  must  be  forgotten  if 
we  wish  to  picture  it  in  1664.  Versailles  was  then 
a  small  village  surrounded  on  three  sides  by  fields 
and  marshes.2  The  fourth  side  was  occupied  by  a 
chateau  which  would  have  been  spacious  for  a  pri- 
vate person,  but  which  meant  little  for  a  court ; 
a  few  dependencies ;  the  beginning  of  a  garden 
planted  by  Le  N6tre.  That  was  all. 

1  See  the  Molilre  of  the  Grands  Ecrivains,  v.,  iv. 

2  See  the  contemporary  engravings.       Some  reproductions  will  be  found 
in  the  beautiful  work  of  M.  de  Nolhac,  La  Creation  de  Versailles. 


o 


<<  X 

O       X 


o     g 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  177 

Colbert  considered  Versailles  already  too  large, 
as  soon  as  Louis  XIV.  decided  to  offer  anything 
more  to  his  guests  than  the  four  walls  of  their  cham- 
bers. It  will  be  remembered1  that  when  Mademoi- 
selle came  to  Saint-Germain  to  visit  the  Queen 
Mother  she  brought  her  own  furniture  and  cook. 
Not  even  food  was  provided.  This  was  the 
general  rule. 

Louis  XIV.  aspired  to  great  hospitality,  and  com- 
menced his  reform  at  Versailles.  "  What  is  very 
peculiar  in  this  house,"  wrote  Colbert  in  1663,  "is 
that  his  Majesty  has  desired  all  apartments  given 
to  guests  to  be  furnished.  He  also  orders  every  one 
to  be  fed  and  provided  with  all  necessities,  even  to 
the  wood  and  candles  in  the  chambers,  which  has 
never  been  the  custom  in  royal  establishments." 

Colbert  was  evidently  in  a  bad  humour.  There 
were,  however,  but  few  apartments  to  offer  in  the 
Chateau  of  Versailles ;  the  600  guests  soon  per- 
ceived this  fact  themselves. 

The  journal  of  Olivier  d'Ormesson  contains  on 
the  date  of  May  13  the  following  lines:  "  This 
same  day,  Mme.  de  Sevigne  has  related  to  us  the 
diversions  of  Versailles,  which  have  lasted  from 
Wednesday  till  Sunday3:  courses  of  bague,  ballets, 
comedies,  fireworks,  and  other  beautiful  inventions ; 
but  all  the  courtiers  were  enraged,  for  the  King 
took  no  care  of  them,  and  Monsieurs  de  Guise  and 

1  See  the  Youth  of  La  Grande  Mademoiselle. 

2  From  the  yth  to  the  nth  of  May,  the  first  two  days  and  the  last  two 
not  counted. 


178  Louis  XIV.  and 

d'Elbeuf  could  hardly  find  a  hole  in  which  to  shel- 
ter themselves."  It  is  to  be  noted  that  the  Due  de 
Guise  must  costume  himself  and  all  his  lackeys. 

The  th£me  of  the  fete  had  been  drawn  from  Roland 
furieux,  and  had  been  made  to  accord  with  up-to- 
date  episodes,  by  a  courtier  expert  in  this  kind  of 
work,  the  Due  de  Saint-Aignan.  During  three 
days  and  three  nights,  a  volunteer  company,  com- 
posed of  Louis  XIV.,  Moliere,  and  the  greatest 
nobles  of  France,  with  the  prettiest  actresses  of 
Paris,  embellished  the  imaginations  of  Ariosto,  in 
the  presence  of  two  queens  and  of  an  immense 
Court  which  seemed,  says  the  Gazette,  to  have 
"exhausted  the  Indies"1  in  order  to  cover  itself 
with  precious  stones.  Halls  of  verdure,  arches 
of  flowers,  and  the  vault  of  heaven  formed  the 
frame  in  which  deployed  the  mythological  pro- 
cessions, the  games  of  chivalry,  the  ballets,  the 
festivities  for  the  "  little  army,"  and  the  first  two 
representations  of  Moliere,  of  which  one  was  to  be 
the  striking  literary  event  of  the  century.  In  the 
evening,  lamps  hung  upon  the  trees  were  lighted 
and  the  fete  continued  during  the  night.  Gentle 
and  tender  music  softened  this  apotheosis  of  love, 
of  which  the  heroine — and  this  gave  an  added 
charm — remained  hidden  in  the  crowd  ;  Louise  de 
La  Valliere  was  still  neither  "  recognised "  nor 
duchess. 

The   first   of   the   great   days   of   the  f£te  was 

1  Number  of  February  3,  1663,  apropos  of  a  ball  given  at  the  Louvre  by 
the  King  on  January  jist. 


UJ       -C 

^      bXi 


fe   I 

o     S 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  179 

open  to  all.  The  King  of  France  and  the  flower 
of  the  nobility  as  Paladins  of  Charlemagne,  clothed 
and  armed  "  a  la  grecque,"  according  to  the  seven- 
teenth century  ideas  of  local  colour,  took  part  in  a 
tournament  before  a  sumptuous  assembly  who,  at 
the  appearance  of  the  master,  uttered  "  cries  of  joy 
and  admiration ."  1 

Louis  XIV.  sought  these  exhibitions  He  shone 
in  them  and  attributed  to  them  an  importance 
which  in  his  Mtmoires  he  explains  to  his  son.  He 
believed  them  very  efficacious  for  binding  together 
the  affections  of  the  people,  above  all  those  of  high 
rank,  and  the  sovereign.  The  populace  have  al- 
ways loved  spectacles,  and  for  the  nobility,  the 
more  closely  the  King  keeps  it  at  Court,  the  more 
pains  he  must  take  to  show  that  there  is  no  aver- 
sion between  sovereign  and  subject,  but  simply 
a  question  of  reason  and  duty.  Nothing  serves 
better  for  this  than  carrousels  and  other  diversions 
of  the  same  nature  :  "  This  society  of  pleasure, 
which  gives  to  the  courtiers  an  honest  familiarity 
with  us,  touches  and  charms  them  more  than  can 
be  told." 

The  partakers  in  the  "  Tournament "  of  1664 
had  in  reality  been  very  proud  of  the  honour  done 
them.  They  appeared  covered  with  gold,  silver, 
and  jewelry,  escorted  by  pages  and  gentlemen  gal- 
lantly equipped.  After  them,  defiled  allegorical 

1  For  this  portion,  see  the  Gazette  of  May  I7th,  the  letters  from  Loret  of 
the  loth  and  I7th,  various  Relations  du  temps •,  the  Moliere  of  the  Grands 
£crivains,  etc. 


i8o  Louis  XIV.  and 

chariots,  personages  of  fable,  and  strange  animals, 
Moliere  as  the  god  Pan,  one  of  his  comrades 
mounted  upon  an  elephant,  another  upon  a  camel. 

At  the  supper  in  the  open  air,  which  terminated 
the  day,  the  royal  table  was  served  by  the  corps  de 
ballet,  who,  dancing  and  whirling  bore  in  the  differ- 
ent dishes.  The  cavaliers  of  the  tournament,  with 
their  helmets  covered  with  feathers  of  various  col- 
ours, and  wearing  the  mantles  of  the  course,  stood 
erect  behind  the  guests.  Two  hundred  masks, 
bearing  torches  of  white  wax  illumined  this  admir- 
able living  picture,  worthy  of  the  great  poet  who 
inspired  it. 

The  next  day  was  occupied  in  giving  to  the  two 
hundred  guests  a  lesson  in  natural  philosophy,  no 
longer  symbolical  and  veiled,  but  clear  and  direct ; 
it  was  perfectly  comprehended  and  the  spectators 
were  convinced.  The  lesson  was  from  Moliere, 
who  had  written  his  Princesse  d' Elide 1  in  the  de- 
sign well  formed  of  "  celebrating"  and  "  justifying" 
the  loves  of  the  King  and  La  Valliere.  The  Re'cit 
de  rAurore  will  be  recalled  which  opens  the  piece. 

Dans  1'age  ou  Ton  est  amiable, 
Rien  n'est  si  beau  que  d'aimer. 

Soupirer  librement  pour  un  amant  fidele, 
Et  braver  ceux  qui  voudraient  vous  blamer. 

It  will  also  be  recollected  that  the  five  acts  which 
follow  are  only  the  development,  full  of  insistence, 
of  that  invitation  to  the  ladies  of  the  Court  not  to 

1  Louise  de  La  Valliere,  by  J.  Lair. 


JEAN  BAPTISTE  POQUELIN  MOLIlRE 
After  the  painting  by  Noel  Coypel 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  181 

merit  the  "  name  of  cruel."  After  serious  affairs, 
innocent  pleasures  followed,  the  most  applauded  of 
which  was  a  piece  of  fireworks  which  embraced 
"  the  heavens,  the  earth,  and  the  waters." 

Every  one  was  already  thinking  of  departure, 
when  on  Monday,  May  i2th,  Moliere  presented  the 
first  act  of  Tartuffe. 

The  connivance  of  the  King  appears  well  estab- 
lished. Father  Rapin  relates  that  the  "  sect  of  the 
Divots  "  had,  since  the  time  of  Mazarin,  rendered 
itself  so  insupportable  by  its  indiscreet  advice,  that 
the  King,  "  in  order  to  ridicule  them,  had  permitted 
Moliere  to  represent  them  on  the  stage."  The 
Dtvots  had  seen  the  blow  coming,  and  did  their  best 
to  avoid  it ;  the  annals  of  the  Compagnie  du  Saint 
Sacrement  affirm  this.1  They  report  that  there 
was  "  strong  talk  "  in  the  seance  of  April  1 7th,  in 
the  attempt  to  accomplish  the  suppression  of  the 
wicked  comedy  Tartuffe. 

Each  member  of  the  Compagnie  charged  himself 
to  speak  to  any  friends  who  had  credit  at  Court, 
"  begging  aid  in  preventing  its  representation." 
The  effort  was  vain.  Tartuffe  was  acted.  The 
spectators  divined  without  difficulty  whom  Moliere 
had  in  view,  and  the  De'vots  heard  with  emotion 
this  openly  significant  expression  of  contempt  of 
religious  forms,  in  less  than  one  week  after  the 
Princesse  a  Elide  had  thrown  its  weight  upon  the 
side  of  questionable  morals. 

From  the  point  of  view  of  a  general  principle, 

1  See  La  Cdbale  des  DJvots,  by  M.  Raoul  Allier. 


182  Louis  XIV.  and 

the  two  pieces  naturally  followed  each  other  ;  they 
were  two  chapters  of  the  same  gospel.  The  King 
had  the  air  of  being  about  to  pass  to  the  enemy 
and  of  uniting  himself  with  the  Libertins.  The 
Cabal  made  a  desperate  effort  and  Tartuffe  was 
forbidden  ;  at  the  same  time  no  one  imagined  that 
the  battle  was  terminated. 

An  extraordinary  agitation  around  the  King 
might  have  been  seen  during  the  weeks  which  fol- 
lowed the  fetes  of  Versailles.  The  Court  at  once 
departed  for  Fontainbleau  ;  the  two  parties  dis- 
puted the  entire  summer  over  the  young  monarch. 

Louis  himself  had  skirmished  with  both.  The 
King  felt  at  the  same  time  a  personal  revolt  against 
the  constraints  of  the  Church,  and  the  need  of  a 
politic  catholicity  which  would  sustain  the  practices 
of  religion  for  State  reasons,  because  he  could  not 
do  without  their  aid.  These  two  fashions  of  think- 
ing can  easily  be  accommodated  together,  and  the 
King  was  in  train  to  learn  how  to  do  this.  After 
a  little  delay,  the  conciliation  between  the  two 
points  of  view  was  completed  in  his  mind. 

While  waiting,  he  lived  in  the  midst  of  floods  of 
tears.  The  summer  was  a  very  troubled  one. 

Such  events  held  the  attention  of  Paris,  but  the 
poor  Mademoiselle,  forgotten  in  the  Chateau  d'Eu, 
fretted  so  much  that  at  length  her  pride  was  con- 
quered. "  Upon  the  news  of  the  pregnancy  of  the 
Queen,"  says  the  Mtmoires,  "  I  decided  to  write, 
dreaming  that  perhaps  the  King  wished  to  be  be- 
sought," and  she  abased  herself  to  do  this.  She  at 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  183 

first  expressed  the  hope  that  the  child  might  be  a 
son.  "  I  exaggerated  with  good  faith  the  desire 
which  I  had,  and  I  showed  the  grief  I  felt  in  being 
forced  to  remain  so  long  without  the  honour  of  see- 
ing him  [the  King].  I  said  everything  I  could  to 
oblige  him  to  permit  me  to  return." 

She  wrote  at  the  same  time  to  Colbert,  who  was 
considered  the  powerful  man  of  the  ministry : 

Eu,  March  23,  1664. 
MONSIEUR  COLBERT  : 

In  bearing  testimony  to  the  King  of  the  joy  which  I  have 
in  the  pregnancy  of  the  Queen,  I  am  daring  to  command  his 
good  graces,  and  the  permission  for  an  audience  to  ask  them 
in  person. 

I  trust  that  you  will  assist  me  with  your  good  offices  to  ob- 
tain so  precious  a  favour.  If  I  cannot  succeed  in  obtaining 
this,  I  beg  to  be  permitted  to  pass  through  Paris  before  May,1 
having  three  considerable  lawsuits  at  this  date.  I  look,  on 
this  occasion,  for  the  continuation  of  your  good  offices. 

ANNE-MARIE-LOUISE  D'ORLE"ANS. 

The  King  waited  two  months  before  responding  : 

TO  MY  COUSIN  MADEMOISELLE,  ELDEST   DAUGHTER  OF   THE 

LATE  MONSEIGNEUR  DUG  D'ORL^ANS 
MY  COUSIN  : 

It  consoles  me  much  to  find  you  in  the  state  of  mind 
which  your  letter  shows.  I  willingly  forget  the  past  and 
permit  you  not  only  to  pass  through  Paris,  but  also  either  to 
dwell  there,  or  to  choose  any  other  place  of  residence  which 
may  be  agreeable  to  you,  and  even  to  come  here  in  case  you 
wish  it,  if  you  assure  me  that  your  conduct  will  always  give 
me  reason  for  cherishing  you  and  for  treating  you  properly  as 
a  personage  so  nearly  related. 

1  A  doubtful  phrase. 


184  Louis  XIV.  and  La  Grande  Mademoiselle 

I  thank  you  for  the  affection  with  which  you  write  to  me 
of  the  Queen's  pregnancy  and  pray,  etc. 

Louis. 

Some  days  later  Mademoiselle  was  en  route  for 
Fontainbleau,  well  resolved  to  show  herself.  She 
was  transported  with  joy  at  having  recovered  lib- 
erty of  movement,  but  the  Court  at  this  time  in- 
spired her  with  terror.  The  ground  had  become 
too  slippery  for  a  person  of  her  temperament, 
loving  so  much  her  independence  and  rebellious  to 
all  discipline. 


CHAPTER    IV. 

Increasing  Importance  of  the  Affairs  of  Love — The  Corrupters  of  Morals — 
Birth  of  Dramatic  Music  and  its  Influence — Love  in  Racine — 
Louis  XIV.  and  the  Nobility — The  King  is  Polygamous. 

IT  was  neither  through  compassion  nor  through 
friendship  that  Louis  XIV.  had  recalled  from 
exile  a  second  time  his  cousin  Mile,  de  Montpensier. 
He  had  renounced  the  idea  of  marrying  her  to 
Alphonse  VI.  since  she  persisted  in  her  refusal,  but 
he  pursued  the  plan  of  giving  her  in  marriage 
"  where  it  would  be  useful  to  his  service." 

And  there  was  reason  for  entertaining  another 
project.  While  she  was  in  penitence  at  Eu,  one  of 
the  little  sisters,  Mile,  de  Valois,  had  married  the 
Due  de  Savoie,  Charles  Emmanuel  II.,  and  had 
died  (January  14,  1664),  at  the  end  of  some  months 
of  wedded  life.  The  widowhood  of  princes  is 
rarely  a  matter  of  long  duration.  The  King  had 
immediately  arranged  to  offer  the  millions  of  the 
Grande  Mademoiselle  to  the  Due  de  Savoie,  it  be- 
ing of  first  importance  to  bring  back  this  territory  to 
France,  and  to  recompense  the  King  of  Portugal 
by  giving  him  one  of  the  princesses  of  Nemours.1 

1  The  Miles,  de  Nemours  were  daughters  of  Elisabeth  de  Vendome,  sis- 
ter of  the  Due  de  Beaufort,  and  of  Henri  de  Savoie,  Due  de  Nemours, 
who  was  killed  in  a  duel  by  his  brother-in-law  (July  30,  1652).  The 
younger  sister  married  Alphonse  VI.  June  28,  1666. 

185 


1 86  Louis  XIV.  and 

The  new  combination  was  well  known  in  the 
political  world.  One  reads  in  the  journal  of  Oli- 
vier d'Ormesson  on  the  date  of  June  4,  1664: 
"  M.  Le  Pelletier 1  tells  me  of  the  return  of  Mile. 
d'Orleans,  and  that  the  King  had  written  to  her 
with  his  own  hand,  permitting  her  to  come  back, 
without  saying  anything  to  the  Queen  Mother ;  but 
this  was  with  the  Savoie  marriage  in  sight."  Louis 
XIV.  had  not  resigned  himself  without  effort  to 
the  idea  of  procuring  so  fine  an  establishment  for 
an  ancient  Frondeuse.  It  may  be  seen  through  a 
letter  from  the  grand  Conde  to  the  Queen  of  Po- 
land that  the  royal  rancour  had  yielded  for  reasons 
of  State  : 

FONTAINBLEAU,  June  3,   1664. 

Mademoiselle  having  written  to  the  King  about  the  preg- 
nancy of  the  Queen,  his  Majesty  has  himself  responded,  which 
is  a  mark  of  softened  feelings,  and  every  one  believes  that  she 
will  return  and  that  his  Majesty  will  consent  to  her  marriage 
with  M.  de  Savoie,  which  up  to  this  time  he  has  not  desired, 
because  he  preferred  that  of  Mile.  d'Alenpon2:  but  as  she  is 
very  ugly,  and  as  an  additional  distinction  is  badly  marked 
with  small-pox,  he  has  reason  to  believe  that  M.  de  Savoie  will 
not  be  willing  to  espouse  her  ;  and  he  fears  that  there  may  be 
a  question  of  a  union  with  the  Austrian  House,  and  thus  1  be- 
lieve, in  spite  of  his  own  dislikes,  he  will  wish  to  hasten  the 
marriage  of  Mademoiselle  which,  however,  is  not  so  certain  as 
it  appears.8 

There  was  no  danger  of  pouts  in  regard  to  this 

1  Claude  Le  Pelletier,  then  President  of  Inquests.  After,  he  was  Minis- 
ter of  State  and  Controller-General  of  Finances. 

*  Mile.  d'Alen9on,  the  second  of  the  half-sisters  of  Mademoiselle. 

*  Archives  de  Chantilly. 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  187 

prospective  husband  ;  this  the  King  well  under- 
stood. Mademoiselle  arrived  at  Fontainbleau  dur- 
ing the  first  fortnight  of  June,  1664.  The  entire 
Court  had  met  her  upon  the  highway. 

Mademoiselle  was  the  first  to  whom  the  King 
had  yielded  since  assuming  the  reins  of  government. 
This  was  a  glory ;  she,  indeed,  felt  it  and  held  her 
head  high.  Louis  XIV.  had  the  good  taste  to 
ignore  this  attitude.  He  greeted  her  graciously 
and  limited  his  vengance  to  teasing  her  during  the 
few  days  she  passed  with  him.  "  Confess,"  said  he 
to  her,  "  that  you  are  very  bored."  She  cried,  "  I 
assure  you  not  at  all,  and  I  often  think  that  the 
Court  is  very  much  deceived  if  it  believes  me  dis- 
enchanted, for  I  have  not  experienced  a  moment's 
dulness." 

The  King,  however,  believed  only  what  pleased 
him.  One  evening,  after  the  play,  he  led  her  upon 
a  little  terrace  and  spoke  in  these  terms  :  "  The 
past  must  be  forgotten.  Be  persuaded  that  you 
will  receive  all  good  treatment  from  me  in  the 
future,  and  that  I  am  contemplating  your  establish- 
ment. Naturally,  M.  de  Savoie  is  a  better  match 
than  formerly  ;  his  mother  is  dead.  He  will  recog- 
nise the  difference  between  your  sister  and  yourself. 
Thus  you  will  be  very  happy  and  I  shall  work  seri- 
ously to  accomplish  this."  The  King's  discourse 
was  followed  by  an  exchange  of  effusions.  "  We 
embraced  each  other,  my  cousin  and  I,"  said  the 
King  in  reappearing  before  his  Court,  and  the 
signal  word  was  at  once  comprehended. 


1 88  Louis  XIV.  and 

The  Grande  Mademoiselle  passed  an  almost 
triumphal  week  at  Fontainbleau.  The  repose  of 
provincial  life  was  hard  to  bear  in  comparison.  The 
King,  the  ministers,  and  the  ambassadors  all  worked 
for  the  marriage.  There  was  nothing  to  do  but  to 
leave  them  to  act.  Mademoiselle  wished  to  aid. 
To  commence  she  undertook  to  reduce  to  silence 
the  old  Madame,  who  was  outraged  by  her  eagerness 
to  replace  her  younger  sister. 

Dissatisfactions  grew  into  quarrels  and  Louis 
XIV.  was  forced  to  intervene,  and  to  silence  all 
these  women.  He  wrote  to  Mademoiselle  : 


TO  MY  COUSIN 

MY  COUSIN: 

I  cannot  prevent  my  aunt's  people  from  talking,  but  I 
hardly  believe  that  she  would  say  that  I  have  promised  her 
protection  against  you. 

I  love  you  and  consider  you,  as  much  as  the  most  pressing 
desires  which  pass  through  your  brain  are  capable  of  inspiring 
me,  and  assuredly  it  is  my  intention  to  give  you  pleasure  in 
every  degree  possible.  I  only  avow  that  you  can  do  much  on 
your  part  in  facilitating  things  a  little;  this  is  my  only  request, 
and  having  nothing  to  add  to  so  sincere  an  explanation  of  my 
sentiments,  I  finish  this  letter,  praying  God,  etc. 

Written  at  Fontainbleau,  July  12,  1664. 

Signed:  Louis. l 

It  was  beyond  the  strength  of  Mademoiselle  to 
abstain  from  interference.  Her  anxiety  to  be  the  fly 
on  the  wheel  drew  upon  her  a  new  letter  from  the 
King.  The  tone  is  that  of  a  very  impatient  man. 

1  (Euvres  de  Louis  XIV,      Lettres  particular es,  Paris,  1806. 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  189 

TO  MY  COUSIN 
MY  COUSIN: 

I  see  clearly  by  your  last  letter  that  you  are  not  accu- 
rately informed  of  what  is  passing  in  Piedmont;  for  I  have 
been  obliged  to  be  very  badly  satisfied  with  my  ambassador, 
in  that  he  has  executed  my  orders  with  so  much  warmth  that 
the  Due  de  Savoie  complains  through  his  despatches  to  Count 
Carrocio  of  apparently  being  forced  into  an  action  which 
should  be  the  freest,  even  to  the  smallest  particular.  Judge  by 
this  fact  if  the  conduct  proposed  and  suggested  to  you  is  wise  ? 

I  perceive  even  malice  in  those  who  give  you  such  advice; 
for  their  desire  is  to  put  you  in  such  a  state  of  mind  that  if  the 
affair  fail  it  is  I  who  am  to  blame. 

I  see  that  you  are  already  persuaded  that  success  depends 
upon  my  simple  wish  expressing  my  desire  on  one  side  or  the 
other,  but  I  am  not  resolved  to  conduct  myself  according  to 
the  caprices  of  those  people. 

I  have  told  you  that  I  sincerely  wish  your  satisfaction  and  I 
again  affirm  it.  The  friendship  alone  which  I  have  for  you 
would  give  me  this  feeling,  and  I  realise  also  that  the  scheme 
is  beneficial  for  me. 

You  must  not  doubt,  therefore,  that  I  will  do  all  which  will 
be  really  useful  in  furthering  the  affair;  as  for  the  means,  it  is 
not  too  much  to  say  that  I  see  better  what  should  be  done  than 
those  who  speak  and  write  to  you.  However,  I  pray  God,  etc. 

At  Vincennes,  September  2,  1664. 

Signed;  Louis. 

The  King  spoke  the  truth  :  the  Due  de  Savoie 
did  not  want  the  Grande  Mademoiselle.  Charles 
Emmanuel  had  never  digested  the  affront  received 
upon  the  journey  to  Lyons,  from  which  he  had  seen 
his  sister  return  Duchess  of  Parma  when  he  had 
imagined  to  receive  her  as  Queen  of  France.1  He 

1  Z'  ambassadeur  de  la  Fuente  au  roi  d'Espagne;  Paris,  January  27,  1664. 
(Archives  de  la  Bastile.)  The  Princesse  de  Savoie  refused  by  Louis  XIV: 
had  decided  to  marry  the  Due  de  Parma. 


190  Louis  XIV.  and 

was  not  averse  to  revenging  himself  on  Louis  XIV. 
by  refusing  a  princess  of  his  family  whose  age  above 
all  "  made  him  afraid,  for  he  desired  children."1 

He  had  also  an  account  to  regulate  with  Made- 
moiselle, who  had  disdained  him  at  the  time  in  which 
she  was  young  and  beautiful.  At  this  distant  date, 
Charles  Emmanuel,  although  her  junior  by  seven- 
teen years,  had  not  concealed  the  fact  that  he  would 
have  been  ready  to  marry  her,  "  so  much  did  he 
esteem  her  person  and  also  her  great  wealth."2 

But  it  was  with  the  Due  de  Savoie  as  with  the 
Prince  of  Wales,  and  later  with  the  Prince  de 
Lorraine  : 

Quoi  ?  moi!  quoi  ?  ces  gens-Ik!  Ton  radote,  je  pense, 
A  moi  les  proposer!  helas!  ils  font  pitied 
Voyez  un  peu  la  belle  espece.3 

Having  become  less  exacting  with  years,  Made- 
moiselle at  length  found  a  man  who  did  not  disdain 
to  play  the  part  of  substitute  for  his  betters. 

The  Duke  remained  firm,  and  it  was  again  a 
Nemours,4  sister  of  the  Queen  of  Portugal,  who 
inherited  the  husband  destined  for  the  Grande 
Mademoiselle. 

Equally  difficult,  the  same  fate  fell  upon  Made- 
moiselle as  upon  the  marriageable  daughter  in 
La  Fontaine  :  she  was  to  be  reduced  to  wed  a  cadet 

1  Me'moires  de  Mme.  de  Motteville. 

2  The  Archbishop  of  Embrun  to  Father  Brienne;  Turin  Aug.  I,  1659. 

3  La  Fontaine  :  La  Fille,  fable,  published  for  the  first  time  in  the  edition 
1679. 

4  Marie-Jeanne-Baptiste  de  Nemours  married  Charles  Emmanuel  II.,  May 
II,  1665. 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  191 

of  Gascony,  the  malotru  of  the  fable.  I  believe 
that  La  Fontaine  had  Mademoiselle  in  his  mind 
when  writing  La  Fille.  It  has  been  queried 
whether  this  subject  was  not  borrowed  from  the 
Epigram  of  Martial.  There  is  no  need  for  so  dis- 
tant a  search.  On  July  8,  1664,  La  Fontaine  had 
been  appointed  "  gentleman-in-waiting  to  the  dow- 
ager Duchesse  d'  Orleans." 1  He  was,  therefore,  in 
a  position  to  be  well  informed  concerning  the  pro- 
jects for  marriage  which  failed,  and  the  ridiculous 
actions  of  the  daughter  of  the  house.  We  possess 
his  confidences  upon  the  household  of  the  Lux- 
embourg, on  the  one  side  of  the  apartments  of 
Madame,  on  the  other  those  of  Mademoiselle,  in 
an  epistle  dedicated  to  Mignon,  the  little  dog  of  his 
mistress. 

For  La  Fontaine,  the  Luxembourg  was  the 
palace  in  which  there  was  no  place  for  lovers.  The 
tender  passion  was  forbidden  chez  Madame,  where 
it  was  necessary  to  be  contented  with  the  "  pious 
smiles"  of  Mme.  de  Crisse,  the  original  of  the 
Countess  de  Pimbesche,  and  to  bear  in  mind  the 
presence  of  an  old  Capuchin  become  Bishop  of 
Bethleem  in  Nivernais,2  who  supervised  the  conver- 
sations. "  Speak  low,"  says  the  letter  Pour  Mignon. 

Si  l'e"veque  de  Bethleem 
Nous  entendait,  Dieu  sait  la  vie. 

There  was  not  even  the  resource  of  fleeing  to 
the  "  Divinity"  opposite.  Under  that  shelter,  lovers 

1  And  not  Madame  Henrietta,  as  has  been  said  in  error. 

2  Bethleem  was  a  suburb  of  Clamecy. 


192  Louis  XIV.  and 

were  less  well  regarded  year  by  year,  and  La  Fon- 
taine divined  why  :  the  antipathy  always  evinced 
by  Mademoiselle  was  now  doubled  by  envy. 

The  check  in  regard  to  the  Savoie  marriage  had 
brought  on  a  painful  crisis  in  the  life  of  this  poor 
unattached  heroine.  For  the  first  time,  she  had 
been  made  to  feel  that  she  had  passed  the  mar- 
riageable age,  and  she  was  one  of  those  unfor- 
tunates who  cannot  easily  resign  themselves  to  the 
fall  from  the  purely  feminine  portion  of  existence. 

The  revolt  against  nature  frequently  causes 
whimsicalities ;  a  terrible  injustice  toward  those 
doleful  creatures  who  often  have  asked  no  better 
than  to  obey  nature's  laws  in  becoming  wives  and 
mothers.  Nervous  maladies  give  to  the  soul-tragedy 
a  burlesque  outside,  and  the  world  laughs  without 
comprehending.  Mademoiselle  was  one  of  these 
unfortunates.  La  Fontaine  had  well  discovered  it 
when  he  wrote : 

Son  miroir  lui  disait:  "  Prenez  vite  un  mari." 
Je  ne  sais  quel  desir  le  lui  disait  aussi: 
Le  desir  peut  loger  chez  une  pre"cieuse. 

It  is  very  difficult  to  relate  the  decline  of  the 
Grande  Mademoiselle  without  provoking  a  smile 
at  least,  and  it  would  be  a  pity,  however,  if  this 
proud  figure  should  leave  the  even  slight  impression 
of  that  of  Belise.  She  was  left  disabled,  without 
aim  in  life,  at  the  very  moment  in  which  women 
in  general  were  being  excluded  from  action,  after 
having  been  slightly  intoxicated  with  power  under 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  193 

Anne  of  Austria.  Men  had  at  that  time  encour- 
aged women  to  enter  into  public  life.  Thanks  to 
masculine  complicity,  feminine  influence  and  power 
had  mounted  high,  and  the  weaker  sex  enjoyed  one 
of  the  most  romantic  moments  of  its  entire  history. 

The  habit  of  treating  women  as  the  equals  of 
men  had  been  fully  formed  when  the  will  of  a 
monarch  who  distrusted  them  precipitated  the  sex 
from  its  giddy  height. 

It  has  been  seen  a  propos  of  La  Valliere  with 
what  contempt  Louis  XIV.  spoke  of  women  in  his 
Memoir es.  Upon  this  subject  he  had  truly  Orien- 
tal ideas,  approaching  those  held  by  his  Spanish 
ancestors,  inherited  by  them  from  the  Moors. 
Louis  could  not  do  without  women,  but  he  wanted 
them  only  for  amusement.  He  did  not  really  be- 
lieve them  capable  of  giving  anything  else,  judging 
them  inferior  and  dangerous,  perhaps  in  remem- 
brance of  Marie  Mancini,  who  had  almost  enticed 
him  into  a  crime  against  royalty. 

Hardly  had  the  King  come  to  power  when  all 
who  had  issued  from  their  sphere  must  re-enter  it. 
Love  was  the  only  affair  of  importance  in  which 
women  were  permitted  to  share.  Louis  XIV.  made 
no  exception  in  favour  of  his  mistresses.  Mme.  de 
Montespan  tyrannised  a  little  over  him  in  spite  of  his 
fine  theories.  The  others,  however,  were  looked  upon 
only  in  the  light  of  beautiful  and  amusing  creatures. 

When,  towards  the  end  of  the  reign,  Mme.  de 
Maintenon  had  the  glory  of  again  raising  the  sex  to 
the  position  of  being  esteemed  by  the  King,  she 


194  Louis  XIV.  and 

alone  benefited.  In  general,  nothing  was  gained  for 
women  at  large ;  the  impression  in  regard  to  their 
true  position  had  been  too  deep.  Suddenly  re- 
duced to  an  existence  with  a  narrow  horizon,  women 
found  it  colourless  and  mean.  They  demanded  love, 
since  this  was  all  that  was  left  to  them  to  supply 
those  violent  emotions  to  which  they  had  become 
accustomed  in  the  camps  and  councils.  As  the  re- 
sult of  this  new  attitude  many  strange  events  oc- 
curred, but  they  were  little  noticed  as  long  as  the 
Queen  Mother  remained  of  this  world.  Anne  of 
Austria  succeeded  in  saving  appearances,  if  in  no- 
thing else.  Once  dead,  there  came  the  downfall, 
and -strange  things  became  frightful  ones. 

It  was  at  Versailles  in  the  midst  of  the  Bengal 
fires  of  the  "  lie  enchantee  "  that  the  Queen  Mother 
felt  the  first  pangs  of  the  cancer  which  finally  caused 
her  death. 

Paris  followed  with  grief  the  course  of  her  ill- 
ness. Anne  of  Austria,  remaining  without  influence, 
had  again  become  popular.  "  She  preserves  har- 
mony," wrote  d'Ormesson,  "  and  although  she  can- 
not be  credited  with  much  good,  she  still  prevents 
much  that  is  evil"  (June  5,  1665).  It  is  known 
that  it  was  owing  to  her  that  a  certain  decency  was 
maintained  at  the  Court  of  France ;  that  without 
her,  Louis  XIV.  and  his  sister-in-law  Henrietta 
would  not  have  perceived  in  time  that  they  already 
cared  too/ much  for  each  other  and  that  the  rumour 
of  this  was  "making  much  noise  at  Court."  1 

1  Mme.  de  La  Fayette,  Histoire  de  Madame  Henriette. 


MADAME  HENRIETTE  D'ORLEANS 

From  the  painting  by  Mignard  in  the  National  Portrait  Gallery 
(Photograph  by  Walker,  London) 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  195 

The  Queen  Mother  was  forced  to  open  eyes 
which  wished  to  remain  closed.  She  had  spoken 
frankly,  and  her  plainness  had  perhaps  saved  the 
kingdom  of  France  from  an  ineffaceable  stain. 
Such  service  cannot  be  forgotten  by  honest  people. 
To  gratitude  was  added  a  sincere  admiration  for 
her  courage  under  suffering.  The  poor  woman 
endured  without  complaint,  and  with  an  incredible 
tranquillity,  nine  months  of  sharp  pain  increased  by 
the  barbarous  remedies  applied  by  a  crowd  of 
quacks. 

In  the  royal  family,  the  sentiments  were  mixed. 
Louis  XIV.,  as  Mme.  de  Motteville  had  well  re- 
marked, was  a  man  full  of  "  contradictions."  He 
cherished  his  mother.  During  a  previous  malady, 
a  short  time  before  the  cancer  declared  itself,  he 
had  cared  for  her  night  and  day  with  a  devotion 
and  also  a  skill  which  astonished  the  attendants. 

The  thought  of  now  losing  her  gave  him  seasons 
of  stifling  sobs.  At  the  same  time,  his  mother  was 
a  little  too  much  of  a  personage.  She  troubled 
him  by  her  clairvoyance.  He  experienced  a  cer- 
tain relief  at  the  knowledge  that  the  time  was 
approaching  when  she  would  no  longer  be  able  to 
watch  his  course  of  life.  In  all  probability,  he  was 
himself  ignorant  of  this  feeling,  but  it  was  apparent 
to  observers.  When  she  was  actually  dying,  affec- 
tion bore  away  all  other  considerations,  and  the 
King  almost  fainted.  Hardly  was  she  interred 
when  the  pleasure  of  feeling  himself  entirely  free 
again  became  ascendant. 


196  Louis  XIV.  and 

The  attachment  of  Monsieur  for  his  mother  was 
his  best  emotion.  His  grief  possessed  no  hidden 
relief  and  forced  him  to  be  always  near  the  in- 
valid's bed.  "  The  odour  was  so  frightful,"  reports 
Mademoiselle,  "  that  after  seeing  the  wound  dressed 
it  was  impossible  to  sup."  Monsieur  passed  all  his 
time  in  the  chamber  and  tried  to  demonstrate  his 
tenderness.  Sometimes  most  ridiculous  ideas  oc- 
curred to  him ;  but  he  was  not  the  less  touching, 
through  his  never-failing  tears,  on  account  of  his 
sincerity. 

At  length,  Anne  of  Austria  herself  sent  her  son 
away.  Monsieur  returned  to  his  pleasures  and 
forgot  his  grief  in  them ;  he  would  not  have  been 
Philippe  Due  d'Anjou  if  he  had  acted  differently. 
When  the  end  drew  near,  timid  and  submissive  as 
he  was,  he  would  not  be  sent  away.  The  King 
withdrew,  obeying  the  custom  which  forbids  princes, 
as  formerly  gods,  to  witness  death.  Louis  twice 
told  his  brother  not  to  remain  longer,  and  only  re- 
ceived the  response  "  that  he  could  not  obey  him  in 
this,  but  he  promised  that  it  was  the  only  point, 
during  his  entire  life,  on  which  he  would  ever 
disobey."  1 

A  cry  of  Monsieur  piercing  the  walls  announced 
to  Louis  that  the  end  had  come. 

The  young  Queen  Marie-Therese,  who  was  losing 
all,  justified  the  reputation  of  "  fool  "  which  the 
Court  gave  her.  She  permitted  herself  to  be  per- 
suaded that  her  position  would  be  made  higher, 

1  M/moires  de  Mine,  de  Motteville. 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  197 

through  all  the  privileges  left  to  her  by  the  death 
of  the  Queen  Mother,  and  she  was  more  than  half 
consoled  by  this  chimera. 

Mademoiselle  scrupulously  observed  the  proprie- 
ties ;  which  is  all  that  can  be  said.  Anne  of  Austria 
had  emphasised  in  a  solemn  hour  the  tenacity  of 
the  rancour  against  her  niece.  The  evening  before 
death,  she  took  farewell  of  all.  Two  only  appeared 
forgotten  ;  "  I  was  astonished,  after  all  that  had 
passed,"  relates  Mademoiselle,  "  that  she  did  not 
say  a  word  to  M.  le  Prince  or  to  me,  who  were 
both  there,  especially  slighting  me  who  was  brought 
up  near  her."  It  was  precisely  on  account  of  "all 
that  had  passed."  Anne  of  Austria  gave  a  good  ex- 
ample to  the  King:  she  expired  without  pardon- 
ing the  leaders  of  the  Fronde. 

Great  changes  followed  this  death.  Louis  XIV. 
lost  his  mother  January  20,  1660;  on  the  27th  of 
the  same  month,  a  deputation  came  from  Parliament 
"to  pay  their  compliments  to  the  King."  D'Or- 
messon  was  of  this  body.  "  I  went  afterwards," 
says  his  Journal,  "  to  mass  with  the  King,  at  which 
there  were  present  the  Queen,  M.  le  Dauphin,  Mon- 
sieur and  Mile,  de  La  Valliere,  whom  the  Queen 
has  taken  near  her,  through  complaisance  for  the 
King,  in  which  she  shows  her  wisdom."  Louis 
XIV.  officially  presented  his  mistress  to  the  people, 
and  assigned  her  rank  immediately  below  that  of 
his  legitimate  wife.  During  his  mother's  life  he 
would  not  have  dared  to  do  this. 

Two    months  later  he  was  delivered  from   the 


198  Louis  XIV.  and 

Cabale  des  Dtvots,  and  from  its  intrusive  observa- 
tions, through  the  disappearance  of  the  Compagnie 
du  Saint  Sacrement.  It  does  not  appear  impossible 
that  the  death  of  the  Queen  may  have  slightly 
hastened  this  event.  Anne  of  Austria  had  been 
acquainted  with  the  society  for  a  long  period,1  and 
had  testified  for  it  during  many  years  of  absolute 
devotion.  She  had  guarded  it  from  Mazarin.  She 
did  more  :  there  is  proof  that  she  deceived  her 
minister  for  the  sake  of  the  Compagnie.  The  sit* 
uation  changed  with  the  death  of  the  Cardinal. 
There  is  nothing  to  warrant  the  belief  that  Anne 
of  Austria,  whether  restrained  by  fear  or  by  some 
scruple,  was  willing,  after  the  death  of  Mazarin,  to 
deceive  Louis  XIV.  for  the  sake  of  a  secret  society. 
Actively  pursued  by  Colbert,  who  divined  an 
occult  force  behind  the  adversaries  to  his  power, 
the  Compagnie  fell  back  upon  its  habitual  pro- 
tector, and  had  the  bitter  disappointment  of 
beseeching  in  vain.  The  devotion  of  Anne  of 
Austria  was  henceforth  to  be  a  silent  one.  As 
long  as  she  remained  on*  earth,  all  hope  was  not 
lost£;  she  might  be  brought  back  to  the  bosom 
of  the  fold,  and  better  success  might  be  looked 
for  another  time.  Her  death  caused  the  final 
disorganisation.  The  society  had  not,  during  a 
long  period,  dared  to  reunite.  Deprived  of  the 
mother  of  the  King,  it  practically  yielded.  It  dis- 
solves and  vanishes  into  thin  air.  Its  register  stops 
April  8,  1666.  Have  the  records  of  the  various 

1  See  Raoul  Allier,  La  Cabale  des  Dfoots. 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  199 

prosecutions  been  destroyed  or  scattered  ?  Have 
all  the  documents  been  destroyed  through  pru- 
dence ?  Suppositions  are  free.  It  is  with  this 
mysterious  brotherhood  as  with  those  water-courses 
which  disappear  under  the  ground.  Their  traces 
are  lost.  It  even  happens  that  they  bear  another 
name  when  they  again  spring  to  the  surface.  Such 
without  doubt  has  been  the  fate  of  the  "  Com- 
pagnie  du  Saint  Sacrement,"  for  the  sectarian  spirit 
which  has  been  its  most  significant  mark  has  never 
lost  its  rights  in  the  land  ;  in  our  own  days  we  still 
see  it  placing  itself  in  France  at  the  service  of  very 
different  schools  of  thought  and  belief. 

In  this  beginning  of  April  (1666)  in  which  the 
Cabale  des  D foots  had  avowed  itself  vanquished, 
the  Court  was  struck  with  the  animation  of  the 
King. 

"  A  journey  was  made  to  Mouchy,"  wrote  Made- 
moiselle, "  where  three  days  were  passed  in  reviews. 
The  King  ordered  a  quantity  of  troops  to  be 
assembled  ;  he  also  invited  many  ladies.  All  these 
were  in  mourning.  There  was  much  diversion  ; 
the  King  was  in  gay  spirits  ;  he  sang  and  made 
verses  during  the  progress."  Although  these  were 
not  the  only  ones,  Louis  did  not  compose  many 
songs  during  his  life. 

He  enjoyed  feeling  free  from  those  wearisome 
persons  who  had  abused  the  patronage  of  his 
mother  in  creating  themselves  censors  of  their 
sovereign.  No  one  except  his  confessor  and  his 
preachers  concerned  themselves  further  with  his  sins. 


200  Louis  XIV.  and 

When  Bossuet  and  Bourdaloue  were  appointed 
Court  preachers  they  restrained  themselves  but  lit- 
tle ;  but  Louis  XIV.  bore  their  reproaches  with  equa- 
nimity. It  was  their  duty,  and  Christians  of  that 
date,  even  bad  ones,  recognised  what  they  owed  to 
the  Church,  and  bent  their  heads  before  the  pulpit. 
Bossuet  cried  out  in  the  presence  of  the  entire 
Court  that  "  immoral  manners  are  always  bad  man- 
ners," and  that  "  there  is  a  God  in  heaven  who 
avenges  the  sins  of  the  people,  and  who,  above  all, 
avenges  the  sins  of  Kings."1  He  launched  apos- 
trophies  at  Mile,  de  La  Valliere  :  "  O  creatures, 
shameful  idols,  withdraw  from  this  Court.  Shad- 
ows, phantoms,  dissipate  yourselves  in  the  presence 
of  the  truth ;  false  love,  deceitful  love,  canst  thou 
stand  before  it?" 

Bourdaloue,  who  found  Mme.  de  Montespan  in 
the  place  of  Mile,  de  La  Valliere,  reproached  the 
King  for  his  "  debauches,"  and  openly  demanded  of 
him  in  his  sermon  if  he  had  kept  his  promise  of 
rupture :  "  Have  you  not  again  seen  this  person 
fatal  to  your  firmnesss  and  constancy  ?  Have  you 
no  more  sought  occasions  so  dangerous  for  you  ?  " 

Mme.  de  Sevigne*  went  one  day  to  hear  him  at 
Saint-Germain,  where  he  preached  a  Lenten  ser- 
mon before  the  King  and  Queen.  She  returned 
confounded  and  angry  at  his  boldness  :  "  We  heard 
after  dinner  the  sermon  of  Bourdaloue,  who  speaks 
with  all  his  force,  launching  truths  with  lowered 
bridle,  attacking  adultery  on  every  side  ;  regardless 

1  Lenten  sermons  for  the  year  1662. 


MADAME  DE  MONTESPAN 
From  the  engraving  by  Flameng  after  the  painting  by  Mignard 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  201 

of  all,  he  rides  straight  on." 1  Louis  XIV.  accepted 
these  public  reproaches  without  protest ;  there  was, 
however,  but  little  result. 

One  effect  of  the  death  of  the  Queen  Mother 
was  that  rivals  to  Mile,  de  La  Valliere  were  free  to 
appear ;  also  there  was  a  great  increase  in  the  num- 
ber of  charlatans  and  alchemists,  who  found  more 
easily  an  aristocratic  clientele.  Diviners  and  sor- 
cerers also  played  an  important  r6le  in  the  love 
life  of  this  society — the  most  polished  in  the  world. 

The  practice  of  the  magic  arts  was  at  that  date 
considered  one  of  the  most  flourishing  Parisian  in- 
dustries. The  inhabitants  of  the  streets  little  fre- 
quented, or  of  the  suburbs,  were  accustomed  to  the 
movement  which  took  place  in  the  early  morning, 
or  in  the  evening  at  dusk,  around  certain  isolated 
houses.2  People  of  all  ranks,  on  foot,  in  carriages 
or  in  chairs,  women  masked  or  muffled,  succeeded 
each  other  before  a  closed  door,  which  only  opened 
at  a  particular  sign. 

The  state  of  mind  which  led  this  crowd  to  the 
clairvoyant  was  to  be  found  in  all  classes  of  society, 
from  the  highest  to  the  lowest.  Public  credulity 
was  passing  through  a  period  of  expansion,  ap- 
parently very  much  at  odds  with  the  splendid  intel- 
lect of  France  at  that  date,  at  which,  however,  those 
who  believe  the  simple  formulas  of  history  will  not 
be  astonished.  Two  of  our  grand  classic  writers 

1  Letter  of  March  29,  1680. 

8  Archives  de  la  Bastille,  by  Frar^ois  Ravaisson,  vols.  iv.,  v.,  and  vi., 
passim. 


202  Louis  XIV.  and 

have  left  pages  which  bear  witness  to  the  extent 
of  the  evil,  existing  at  the  very  moment  in  which 
France  became  the  actual  head  of  Europe. 

Moliere  mocks  at  occult  science  and  its  adepts, 
through  a  long  play,  or  rather  a  libretto  for  a 
ballet,1  which  he  wrote  for  the  King  in  1670,  named 
as  we  already  know,  Les  Amants  Magnifiques. 
The  dramatis  personce  are  divided  into  two  camps 
according  to  a  rule  of  his  own,  in  a  fashion  very 
unpleasant  for  the  grandees  of  this  world,  Moliere 
allowing  them  the  precedence  in  folly.  It  was 
sufficient  for  his  heroes  to  be  illustrious  through 
rank,  to  endow  them  with  a  blind  faith  in  all  con- 
jurers. "  The  truth  of  astrology,"  says  the  Prince 
Iphicrate,  "  is  an  incontestable  fact,  and  no  one  can 
dispute  against  the  certitude  of  its  predictions." 
This  is  also  the  opinion  of  the  Prince  Timocles  : 
"  I  am  sufficiently  incredulous  in  regard  to  many 
things,  but  as  for  astrology,  there  is  nothing  more 
certain  and  more  constant  than  the  success  with 
which  horoscopes  may  be  drawn."  The  Princess 
Aristione  also  agrees,  and  is  anxious  in  finding 
that  her  daughter  is  less  convinced. 

This  is  a  commencement  of  a  freedom  of  thought, 
and  one  cannot  know  to  what  it  may  lead  :  "  My 
daughter,"  says  the  mother,  "  you  have  a  little  in- 
credulity which  never  leaves  you." 

Disbelief  in  astrology  and  sorcery  is  represented 
in  the  play  of  Moliere,  figuring  in  the  name  of 

1  See  the  review  of  the  play  in  Molttre  of  the  Grands  JScrivains  de  la 
France  (Hachette). 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  203 

"  Clitidas,  court  jester,"  and  of  another  person  of 
obscure  birth,  "  Sostrate,  general  of  the  army," 
who  takes  the  part  of  Clitidas  against  the  calmer 
prophets  and  other  exploiters  of  human  folly. 

There  is  nothing  more  agreeable  [says  he]  than  all  the 
great  promises  of  this  sublime  knowledge.  To  transform 
everything  into  gold;  to  find  immortal  life;  to  heal  by  words; 
to  make  oneself  beloved  by  the  person  of  one's  desires;  to 
know  all  the  secrets  of  the  future;  to  call  down  from  the  sky 
at  will  impressions  upon  metals  which  bear  happiness  to  mor- 
tals1; to  command  demons;  to  render  armies  invisible  and 
soldiers  invulnerable — all  this  is  doubtless  charming,  and  there 
are  people  who  have'no  trouble  in  believing  in  the  possibility; 
it  is  the  easiest  thing  in  the  world  for  some  men  to  be  con- 
vinced, but  for  me,  I  avow  that  my  grosser  mind  has  some 
difficulty  in  comprehending  and  in  believing. 

La  Fontaine  has  treated  the  same  subject  in 
three  of  his  fables.  It  is  in  one  of  these,  Les  Devin- 
er esses,  published  in  1678,  consequently  before  the 
famous  drama  Les  Poisons,  in  which  he  shows  him- 
self very  well  acquainted  with  what  the  police  had 
not  yet  been  sufficiently  clever  to  discover.  He 
knew  marvellously  well  the  existence  of  the  poudre 
de  succession  and  of  the  poudre  pour  r amour  : 

Une  femme,  a  Paris,  faisait  la  pythonisse. 
On  1'allait  consulter  sur  chaque  e"venement; 
Perdait-on  un  chiffon,  avait-on  un  amant, 
Une  mari  vivant  trop,  an  gre  de  son  Spouse, 
Une  mere  facheuse,  une  femme  jalouse, 

Chez  la  Devineuse  on  courait, 
Pour  se  faire  annoncer  ce  que  Ton  de*sirait. 

1  Allusion  to  certain  talismans. 


204  Louis  XIV.  and 

The  warning  was  not  heeded,  and  it  needed  the 
"burning  chamber"  of  1680  to  make  honest  people 
comprehend  that  "  clairvoyant "  was  too  often  an- 
other name  for  "  seller  of  poisons."  La  Fontaine 
had,  however,  given  no  new  information  about  the 
confidence  inspired.  This  fact  was  already  too 
well  known. 

This  dangerous  agency,  of  which  we  have  already 
had  a  glimpse  on  the  occasion  of  the  first  search  for 
Lesage  and  Mariette,  merits  some  descriptive  details. 
In  Paris,  during  a  period  of  twenty  years,  it  was  so 
mixed  up  with  intrigues  and  crimes  that  it  exercised 
a  real  influence  over  the  morals  of  the  Parisian 
world  and  through  it  over  the  affairs  at  Court. 

Like  a  wave  of  madness  it  swept  over  the  heads 
especially  of  the  women.  Many  of  these,  even 
those  not  directly  mingling  in  political  life,  were  in 
a  state  of  revolt,  inconsolable  for  having  lost  the 
importance  acquired  during  the  civil  troubles. 

Women  had  been  emancipated  by  the  force  of 
affairs.  During  the  actual  fighting  and  the  general 
disorders  which  ensued,  the  habit  of  remaining  in 
the  shade  of  obedience  was  lost ;  also  the  consid- 
ering themselves  only  as  objects  of  luxury. 

Louis  XIV.  had  undertaken  the  task  of  bringing 
the  sex  back  to  the  playing  of  a  decorative  or  util- 
itarian r6le.  It  was  almost  as  if  to-day  we  should 
demand  of  our  daughters,  so  free,  so  mingled  with 
the  general  movement,  to  return  suddenly  to  the 
self-effacement  and  the  thousand  restraints  of  our 
own  youth.  They  would  be  transported  with  rage. 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  205 

In  1666,  the  larger  portion  of  the  clients  of  the 
necromancer  sought  above  everything  else  a  secret 
by  the  aid  of  which  they  might  shake  off  the  yoke 
that  had  again  fallen  upon  their  shoulders.  The 
husband  was  the  natural  incarnation  of  this  yoke. 
It  was  therefore  against  him  that  the  revolt  was 
habitually  directed.  The  wives  addressed  them- 
selves to  a  clairvoyant.  The  first  consultation  was 
generally  innocent  enough. 

The  clairvoyant  counselled  new-comers  to  go  to 
the  good  Saint  Denis,  always  a  succour  for  women 
unhappy  in  their  domestic  life,  and  to  the  indefati- 
gable Saint  Antoine  de  Padua.  She  reserved  un- 
til later  the  giving  of  certain  powders,  only  hinting 
at  their  existence,  the  secret  of  which  had  been 
brought  from  Italy  and  which  were  sought  at  Paris 
by  both  provincials  and  strangers. 

It  is  now  known  through  contemporaneous  docu- 
ments that  arsenic  was  an  element  in  these  powders, 
and  that  so  many  persons  accused  themselves  in 
confession  of  having  "  poisoned  some  one  "  that  the 
priests  of  Notre-Dame  at  length  gave  warning  to 
the  authorities  (1673).  Did  the  penitents,  espe- 
cially the  women,  always  speak  the  truth  ?  Popular 
imagination  is  so  quickly  fired  when  poisoning  is 
suggested,  that  it  may  well  be  queried  whether  a 
portion  of  the  unfortunates  were  not  rather  hys- 
terical and  victims  of  hallucinations.  It  is  probable 
that  the  true  answer  will  never  be  known.  Physi- 
cians at  that  time  were  the  doctors  of  Moliere,  and 
the  science  of  chemistry  did  not  exist. 


206  Louis  XIV.  and 

With  the  husband  softened  or  suppressed,  the 
women  demanded  love  to  replace  emotion  in  their 
contracted  and  faded  existence.  The  task  of  the 
necromancer  thus  consisted  in  interesting  God  or 
the  devil  in  the  heart  pangs  of  her  client  and  of 
arousing  an  affection  in  the  breast  of  the  man  she 
designated.  This  was  the  beginning  for  the  new 
clients ;  the  end  was  the  black  mass  with  its  ob- 
scene rites  or  the  bloody  mass,  for  which  a  small 
infant  was  strangled. 

All  the  forms  of  conjuration  were  used  between 
the  two,  every  charm,  every  talisman  and  many 
"kinds  of  powders,"  not  always  inoffensive.  The 
consultations  were  paid  for  according  to  the  rank 
or  fortune  of  the  clients.  In  default  of  money,  a 
jewel  was  given  or  even  a  signed  note,  the  impru- 
dence of  which  last  proceeding  it  is  hardly  needful 
to  point  out. 

In  the  year  of  the  death  of  Anne  of  Austria,  one 
of  the  clairvoyants  most  frequented  was  the  wife  of 
a  hosier  named  Antoine  Montvoisin,  whose  shop 
was  situated  upon  the  Pont  Marie,  which  to-day 
still  unites  the  right  bank  of  the  Seine  with  the  isle 
Saint-Louis.  The  Pont  Marie,  as  almost  all  the 
bridges  of  Paris  at  that  date,  had  a  double  row  of 
houses,  with  shops  beneath,  which  formed  a  very 
animated  street.  The  affairs  of  Montvoisin,  how- 
ever, had  not  prospered.  He  had  tried  several 
commercial  undertakings  without  success.  He  had 
been  dry-goods  merchant  and  jeweller,  and  had 
always  "lost  his  shops,"  according  to  the  expres- 


LE  ^^W^ORTRJfT  JJB  LA  VdlSltf. 

tfe?fj/Yr  ae.   ^^,  -~^  tasif  fit  mau.r  rnaudiJf.  n 
Qt/i  par  miJTr,  poijonj  ^rjcnuJaif  la  naUur 
Ji  Lt.  pfifwitr.  fft  ItUa/it  tArflttrjtnmt?J0nrj 
rraturla.  mart,  en 


le-urcaun 

Ttynn,,, 
*• """'  tAjcaJ  lraruJifrle.J!i  ^t  tan  faertnf  Tit.  . 


LA  VO\S\N 
From  a  print  in  the  Bibliotheque  Nationale 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  207 

sion  of  his  wife,  Catherine  Montvoisin,  familiarly 
called  "  the  neighbour." 

It  is  under  this  latter  name  that  she  became  cele- 
brated in  the  annals  of  crime.  La  Voisin  the  for- 
tune-teller is  the  same  as  La  Voisin  the  poisoner. 
At  the  date  of  the  hosiery  shop,  she  had  not  yet 
attracted  the  attention  of  justice,  in  spite  of  her  in- 
stallation, but  ill-assured,  on  the  Pont  Marie,  which 
obliged  her  to  have  a  double  domicile,  or  to  give 
rendezvous  at  the  house  of  her  confrere.  She  gained 
large  sums  of  money.  The  price  for  consultation 
varied  from  a  single  piece  to  several  thousand 
francs,  or  from  an  old  rag  to  a  necklace  of  precious 
stones,  and  again  she  drew  something  from  the 
acolytes  of  both  sexes  who  assisted  in  her  wicked 
works.  It  was  known  from  herself  that  her  prop- 
erty was  held  in  her  own  right,  her  husband  having 
been  always  unfortunate  in  business.  In  spite  of 
this  precaution,  the  money  slipped  through  her 
fingers.  It  is  true  that  she  had  expenses,  children 
to  bring  up  and  relatives  to  support.  She  said  :  "  I 
have  ten  persons  to  feed,"  but  she  was  economical 
for  others.  La  Voisin  gave  a  crown  a  week  to  her 
mother  and  brought  up  her  daughter  as  a  small 
shop-keeper.  It  was  she  herself  who,  in  company 
with  other  miserables  of  her  own  kind,  spent 
madly.  The  position  of  husband  of  a  poisoner 
seems  to  have  been  a  precarious  one.  Antoine 
Montvoisin  was  familiar  with  the  nature  of  his  wife's 
industry,  but  his  conscience  did  not  forbid  his  pro- 
fiting by  it  for  his  own  comfort.  His  conscience 


208  Louis  XIV.  and 

also  permitted  him  to  appropriate  to  himself  mo- 
ney entrusted  to  him  by  his  wife  to  execute  the 
orders  for  the  neuvaines.  He  was  as  much  a  free- 
thinker as  any  of  the  Vardes  or  Guiches,  and  con- 
vinced that  the  neuvaines  were  absolutely  useless. 
As  to  going  further,  to  putting  his  own  "  paw  in 
the  dish,"  he  was  successfully  prudent.  He  was 
never  anxious ;  but  he  was  actually  daily  in  danger 
of  being  poisoned,  for  La  Voisin  could  not  suffer 
this  coward.  She  would  have  liked  to  replace  him 
by  a  veritable  associate,  and  between  the  pair,  there 
were  perpetual  fights  for  pre-eminence  in  deceit. 

The  good  man  Antoine  would  certainly  have 
died  through  poisoning  in  spite  of  all  his  care,  if 
he  had  not  conceived  the  ingenious  idea  of  uniting 
himself  with  an  executioner,  to  whom  he  confided 
the  situation.  It  was  agreed  between  the  two 
that,  if  Montvoisin  should  die  before  his  wife,  the 
hangman  should  speak  and  demand  an  autopsy. 
La  Voisin  became  afraid.  She  tried  to  poison  her 
husband  on  a  journey,  but  did  not  succeed,  and 
finally  considered  it  safer  to  keep  him  with  her. 

She  had  benefited,  as  had  also  the  entire  corpo- 
ration, by  the  hopes  awakened  in  the  breasts  of 
many  of  the  pretty  women  among  the  aristocracy 
by  the  death  of  the  Queen  Mother. 

Anne  of  Austria  had  taken  so  ill  the  first  digres- 
sion of  her  son  from  the  paths  of  virtue  that  the 
aspirants  for  the  succession  to  Mile,  de  La  Valliere 
had  preserved  a  certain  discretion.  When  the  re- 
buffs of  the  old  Queen  were  no  longer  to  be  feared, 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  209 

the  passions  were  unchained  and  a  flock  of  youth- 
ful, ambitious  women  addressed  themselves  to  the 
"  duties  of  fashion  "  in  order  to  arrive  at  the  good 
graces  of  the  King.1  The  boldest  demanded  at  the 
same  time  *'  something  against  Mile,  de  La  Val- 
liere."  Amongst  these  young  women  was  found 
the  Marquise  de  Montespan,  who  loved  neither 
her  husband  nor  the  King,  but  who  was  harrassed 
by  her  creditors,  was  very  conscious  of  her  own 
value,  and  determined  to  be  "  recognised  mis- 
tress," since  this  was  now  a  position  admitted  and 
classified. 

She  was  as  "  beautiful  as  the  day,"  says  Saint- 
Simon,  without  being  "  perfectly  agreeable  "  ; — the 
correction  is  by  Mme.  de  La  Fayette.  She  had  all 
the  wit  possible,  was  delicious  in  eccentricities  and 
courtesies.  In  spite  of  so  much  brilliancy,  the 
King  rather  avoided  her  and  she  was  reduced  to 
amusing  Marie-Therese,  who  admitted  her  freely, 
having  full  confidence  in  her  virtue.  The  Queen 
had  been  deceived  by  the  pious  austerities  of  the 
young  Marquise,  by  her  frequent  communions,  and 
by  a  mass  of  religious  practices  which  were  really 
actuated  by  a  sincere  sentiment,  and  which  Mme. 
de  Montespan  preserved  as  far  as  she  could,  not- 
withstanding the  scandals  of  her  after  life.  Under- 
stood in  this  manner,  a  sense  of  duty  towards 
religion  did  not  prevent  resorting  to  sorceresses. 
It  rather  led  in  this  direction  in  giving  to  the 

1  Archives  de    la   Bastille :    Rapport  de  la  Reynie,    lieutenant-general 
of  police,  a  Louvois  (1680,  no  other  date). 
"4 


210  Louis  XIV.  and 

perverse  soul  "the  vague  consciousness  of  some- 
thing beyond." 1 

Mme.  de  Montespan  became  one  of  the  best 
clients  of  La  Voisin,  regarding  neither  the  expense 
nor  the  decency  of  the  ceremonies,  provided  that 
the  devil  would  make  her  the  beloved  of  Louis 
XIV.  Faring  better  than  her  rivals,  she  received 
the  value  of  her  money.  She  began  her  campaign 
in  the  course  of  the  year  1666.  The  Mtmoires  of 
Mademoiselle,  very  full  on  this  subject,  and  else- 
where confirmed,  inform  us  that  in  the  spring  of 
1667,  Mme.  de  Montespan  had  supplanted  La  Val- 
liere ;  it  was  the  young  Queen  alone  who  was  ig- 
norant of  this  fact. 

Less  than  two  years  after,  La  Voisin  had  the 
imprudence  to  make  a  disturbance  because  two  of 
her  aids  had  not  acted  honestly  toward  her.  One 
of  these  was  a  priest,  called  Mariette,  attached  to 
the  Church  of  Saint  Severin.  La  Voisin  made  use 
of  him  in  sacrilegious  practices.  The  other,  Le- 
sage,  was  a  sort  of  Jack  of  all  trades,  who  recoiled 
before  no  abomination.  La  Voisin  accused  them 
of  having  assaulted  one  of  her  clients,  Mme.  de 
Montespan,  a  fact  true  enough,  but  useless  to  pro- 
claim from  the  housetops. 

"  The  quarrel  having  made  some  noise,"  reports 
La  Reynie,  "and  the  King,  having  learned  that 
these  people  were  practising  impieties  and  sacri- 
leges, had  them  watched."  Mariette  and  Lesage 
were  arrested.  The  examinations  have  been  pre- 

1  La  Magie  dans  Flnde  antique,  by  Victor  Henry. 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  211' 

served  for  us.  Here  is  an  essential  passage  :  Mari- 
ette  avowed  without  hesitation  to  having  spoken 
the  Gospels  "  over  the  heads  of  various  persons," 
a  form  of  conjuration  relatively  innocent.  The 
names  were  demanded.  "  Over  the  heads  of  the 
Lady  de  Bougy,  Mme.  de  Montespan,  la  Duverger, 
M.  de  Ravetot,  all  of  which  persons  Lesage  had 
led  to  him."1 

With  this  information  secured,  Louis  XIV. 
ordered  prosecution  : 

SAINT-GERMAIN,  August  16,  1668. 

I  write  this  letter  to  tell  you  that  it  is  my  intention  to  have 
the  said  Mariette  and  Dubuisson  a  conducted  from  my  chateau 
to  the  Chatelet  of  the  City  of  Paris,  for  the  continuation  of 
their  prosecution. 

One  may  be  sure  that  the  King  did  not  lose  this 
inquest  from  view.  Louis  XIV.  was  most  eager 
for  police  details  and  this  affair  touched  him  too 
nearly  to  be  forgotten. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  investigation,  it  was  dis- 
covered that  Mariette  was  first  cousin  to  the  wife 
of  the  judge.  On  account  of  this  connection,  the 
Chatelet  estimated  that  it  was  for  the  honour  of 
the  magistracy  to  stifle  the  affair.  He  brought 
every  effort  to  accomplish  this  and  evidently  met 
with  practical  approbation  from  the  powerful  of 

1  Interrogatory  of  June  30,  1668.     Mme.  de  Bougy  was  the  widow  of  the 
Marquis  of  this  name,  lieutenant-general.      La  Duverger    was   occupied 
with  magic.     The  Marquis  de  Ravetot  had  married  Catherine  de  Gram- 
mont,  daughter  of  the  Marshal. 

2  Another  name  for  Lesage. 


212  Louis  XIV.  and 

this  world,  for  history  permits  us  to  see  numerous 
irregularities. 

La  Voisin,  returning  to  her  senses,  heartily  sec- 
onded the  Justice  in  his  efforts  to  obtain  succour 
from  those  in  high  positions.  Mariette  and  Le- 
sage,  after  a  period  of  trials  and  difficulties,  were 
left  in  peace  to  occupy  themselves  with  their  am- 
biguous trade.  Both  of  these  men  figured  again  in 
the  monster  process  of  1680,  in  which  they  were 
among  those  who  spread  details  concerning  the 
abominable  practices  with  which  de  Mme.  de  Mon- 
tespan  had  been  connected  during  long  years.  It 
does  not  matter  here  whether  these  details  are  addi- 
tions to  the  truth  or  not,  for  it  is  only  Louis  XIV. 
who  interests  us,  not  Mme.  de  Montespan. 

The  letter  cited  above  proves  all  that  is  neces- 
sary, that  the  King  knew,  from  the  year  1668,  that 
his  new  mistress  had  connection  with  the  criminal 
world,  and  that  she  had  intimate  interviews  with 
ignoble  persons,  submitted  to  degrading  contact, 
and  had  practised  in  their  company  sacrilegious 
rites.  This  monarch  who  passed  for  being  so  deli- 
cately keen  in  matters  of  punishment  showed  him- 
self singularly  little  moved. 

Surrounded  by  free-thinkers  without  prejudices, 
himself  more  or  less  of  a  free-thinker,  he  resembles 
so  little,  either  morally  or  physically,  the  bewigged 
figure  of  the  end  of  the  reign,  and  of  the  Mtmoires 
of  Saint-Simon,  that  he  appears  as  another  indi- 
vidual. How  easily  both  proprieties  and  punish- 
ments are  put  on  one  side  when  passion  reigns, 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  213 

but  how  much  more  alive,  how  much  more  of  a 
natural  human  being,  compared  to  the  wooden 
figure  of  the  portraits  of  Versailles,  is  the  King  as 
now  seen  ;  Louis  XIV.  is  decidedly  an  enigmatical 
quantity. 

It  would  be  inexact  to  state  that  passions  had 
become  more  lively  than  they  were  during  the  wars 
of  the  Fronde,  an  epoch  especially  ardent ;  but 
they  had  certainly  changed  their  character,  as  had 
the  tastes,  ideas,  literature,  and  fashions  in  gen- 
eral. This  is  the  usual  course  of  events,  and,  as 
we  have  seen,  the  movement  was  precipitated 
under  the  influence  of  a  monarch  all-powerful,  de- 
termined to  efface  the  past. 

An  artistic  event  which  should  not  be  over- 
looked had  favoured  the  designs  of  Louis  XIV., 
in  opening  unknown  perspectives  to  the  curious 
after  new  sensations,  already  numerous  in  the  sev- 
enteenth century.  Dramatic  music  made  its  entry 
into  the  modern  world.  It  brought  with  it,  accord- 
ing to  the  phrase  of  one  of  its  historians,  M.  Romain 
Rolland, l  an  "  unlimited  power  for  expressing  pas- 
sion, and  with  passionate  emotion  all  that  remains 
incommunicable  through  the  medium  of  language 
alone."  We  may  or  may  not  love  music,  but  it 
must  be  admitted  that  a  creation  of  this  nature  will 
certainly  exercise  a  strong  influence  over  the  re- 
fined portion  of  a  nation. 

1  Histoire  de  V Opera  in  Europe^  by  M.  Romain  Rolland.  Cf.  Histoire 
de  la  Musique  dramatique  en  France^  by  Chouquet,  Les  Origines  de  V  Opera 
fran$ais,  by  Nuitter  and  Thoinan. 


Louis  XIV.  and 

French  society  could  not  escape.  The  new  art 
was  in  train  to  modify  the  nervous  system,  if  I 
dare  thus  speak,  of  the  world  in  which  flourished, 
under  the  royal  protection,  those  rather  perilous 
ideas  upon  the  rights  of  nature  and  the  fatality 
of  passion.  Day  by  day,  new  chords  were  struck 
upon  impressionable  hearts.  Dramatic  music  was 
born  in  Italy  ;  as  might  well  be.  In  the  year  1597, 
upon  a  carnival  evening,  a  rich  Florentine  enter- 
tained a  choice  audience  with  a  musical  tragedy 
called  Dafnt,  of  which  the  score  is  lost.  Accord- 
ing to  one  of  the  guests,  "  the  pleasure  and  aston- 
ishment which  seized  the  soul  of  the  auditors  before 
so  novel  a  spectacle  could  hardly  be  expressed." 

M.  Romain  Rolland  confirms  this  testimony  :  "  It 
was  like  a  thunderbolt.  All  felt  themselves  in  the 
presence  of  a  new  art."  In  ten  years  Italian 
opera  reached  its  full  growth,  thanks  chiefly  to  a 
composer  of  genius,  Monte verde,  whose  Ariane 
caused  an  audience  of  more  than  six  thousand  per- 
sons to  burst  into  sobs  on  its  first  representation. 

The  art  of  singing  had  marched  side  by  side  with 
dramatic  music  and  attained  its  height  almost  at 
once.  A  famous  soprano,  Vittori,  threw  the  public 
into  almost  inconceivable  transports.  "  Many  per- 
sons were  suddenly  forced  to  loosen  their  garments 
in  order  to  breathe,  so  suffocated  were  they  with 
emotion." 

Everywhere  musical  theatres  were  erected.  The 
large  cities  built  several ;  Venice  alone  had  five, 
and  this  number  was  not  sufficient.  The  opera 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  215 

was  given  in  palaces  and  private  salons  ;  "  Bologna 
possessed  more  than  sixty  private  theatres,  without 
mentioning  the  convents  and  colleges."  The  clergy 
were  caught  in  the  whirlwind  ;  monks  and  nuns 
chanted  operas,  cardinals  became  stage  managers 
of  scenes,  a  future  pope  wrote  librettos.  It  was  an 
epidemic,  a  frenzy,  and  Italy  did  not  go  mad  with 
impunity.  In  its  beginning,  the  opera  is  responsi- 
ble for  grave  disorders,  both  nervous  and  moral ; 
it  became  too  much  of  a  passion.  Mazarin  already 
possessed  this  taste  before  his  establishment  in 
France.  He  wished  to  initiate  his  adopted  country 
into  the  joys,  almost  to  be  dreaded,  which  had  so 
suddenly  enriched  human  life,  and  he  brought  from 
Italy  one  after  the  other  four  Italian  troupes,  the 
first  in  1645,  the  last  a  short  time  before  his  death. 

The  result  was  easy  to  predict.  A  spectacle 
patronised  by  the  Cardinal  became  a  matter  of 
politics.  Applauded  by  the  partisans  of  the  min- 
ister, derided  by  his  adversaries,  the  Italian  opera 
met  with  so  strong  an  opposition  that  it  was  neces- 
sary to  renounce  it  for  the  time,  but  the  lesson  was 
not  lost. 

French  composers  heretofore  devoted  to  ballets 
and  masquerades  had  not  received  unheedingly 
the  revelation  of  the  dramatic  style ;  their  ambition 
was  also  aroused  to  express  the  tempests  of  the 
soul,  and  they  began  to  grope  along  the  new  path. 

The  attempt  was  not  at  once  successful ;  but 
their  efforts  familiarised  the  public  with  the  idea  of 
a  musical  language  of  passion.  In  1664,  the  song 


216  Louis  XIV.  and 

was  considered  the  natural  interpreter  of  love. 
Moliere  fixes  the  date  in  his  Princesse  d'  Elide,  in 
which  Moron  does  not  succeed  in  gaining  the  ear 
of  Philis  because  he  speaks,  instead  of  singing  his 
declaration.  Philis  flees  and  Moron  cries  out : 
"Behold  how  it  is:  if  I  had  been  able  to  sing,  I 
should  have  done  better.  Most  women  of  to-day 
only  let  themselves  be  courted  through  the  ears  ; 
this  is  the  reason  that  the  entire  world  has  become 
musical,  and  one  can  succeed  with  the  fair  only  by 
making  them  listen  to  little  songs  and  verses.  I 
must  learn  to  sing  like  others." 

It  was  indeed  somewhat  different  in  1671,  when 
French  opera  arrived  on  the  scene.1  It  had  hardly 
seen  the  light  when  it  became,  as  a  result  of  the 
association  of  Quinault  with  Lulli,  a  counsellor  of 
voluptuousness. 

While  the  decorations  and  the  dances  charmed 
the  eyes,  as  the  "  machines "  amused  by  their 
complications,  the  words  and  music,  outdoing  the 
Princesse  d 'Elide?  murmured  unceasingly  with  the 
same  caressing  languor  that  no  youthful  beings 
have  the  right,  for  any  motive  whatever,  to  deny  to 
themselves  the  duty  of  loving.  "  Yield,  give  your- 
selves up  to  transports,"  chants  a  chorus  of  Amadis. 
The  thirteen  "  lyrical  tragedies  "  given  by  Quinault 
and  Lulli  from  1673  to  1686  are  all  constructed 

1  The  first  opera  worthy  of  the  name  was  Pomone,  by  Cambert.  It  will 
be  learned  in  special  works  how  French  opera  differed  from  Italian  and 
through  what  a  chain  of  circumstances  it  occurred  that  a  Florentine,  Bap- 
tiste  Lulli,  was  the  true  founder. 

8  See  above. 


JEAN  BAPTISTE  DE  LULLI 
After  a  contemporary  print  by  Bonnart 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  217 

upon  this  one  theme.  They  gave  expression  to  the 
one  single  idea ;  "  Yield  !  surrender  yourselves  !  " 
and  resulted  in  producing  a  certain  eloquence  from 
their  monotony.  When  these  lyrics  are  played  on 
the  piano,1  a  better  means  of  hearing  them  fail- 
ing, one  cannot  but  feel  that  in  spite  of  their  in- 
sipidity the  continuous  appeal  to  the  senses  might 
produce  in  the  end,  particularly  in  the  atmosphere 
of  a  theatre,  a  strong  effect. 

Moralists  recognised  this.  All  will  remember 
the  violent  attack  of  Boileau  upon  the  opera.  To- 
day we  consider  this  attack  as  having  been  too 
narrowly  virtuous,  even  a  little  ridiculous.  It 
can  be  explained,  however,  in  considering  what  a 
novelty  it  was  to  see  people  seized  with  nervous 
attacks  and  fits  of  weeping  while  listening  to 
singing.  Was  it  the  "  loose  morals  "  of  Quinault 
which  caused  these?  Was  it  the  new  musio?  In 
either  case,  the  worthy  Boileau  was  excusable  for 
his  alarm. 

France  had  not  yet  reached  the  point  of  excit- 
ability which  existed  in  Italy.  The  French  are  not 
a  sufficiently  musical  race  for  this  ;  but  in  a  less 
degree,  the  country  submitted  to  the  extraordinary 
power  of  the  dramatic  style.  It  is  known  through 
Mme.  de  Sevigne  that  if  the  French  listeners  did 
not  invariably  "  burst  into  sobs"  or  "suffocate 
with  emotion,"  more  than  one  auditor,  including 
herself,  wept  silently  in  hearing  the  fine  passages. 

1 A  selection  of  the  operas  of  Lulli,  for  piano  and  voice,  has  appeared  in 
the  Collection  Michaelis. 


2i8  Louis  XIV.  and 

Fashion  also  swayed  affairs,  and  we  know  of  what 
fashion  is  capable  in  France. 

Saint  Evremond  has  written  a  comedy  entitled 
The  Operas.  In  the  list  of  dramatis  persona,  one 
reads :  "  Mile.  Crisotine  become  mad  through  the 
hearing  of  operas.  Tirsolet,  a  young  man  from 
Lyons,  also  became  mad  through  operas."  A  third 
person  relates  that  "  nothing  else  is  spoken  of  in 
Paris.  Women  and  even  young  children  knew 
the  operas  by  heart,  and  there  is  hardly  a  house 
in  which  entire  scenes  are  not  sung."  How 
nearly  France  and  Italy  are  approached  in  this. 
The  Louvre  party  caught  the  fashion,  the  court- 
iers, being  eager  to  imitate  the  King,  a  great 
admirer  of  Lulli. 

It  had  happened  that  Louis  remarked  during  the 
rehearsals  of  Alceste  "  that  if  he  were  at  Paris  when 
the  opera  should  be  played,  he  would  go  every 
day."  "  This  phrase,"  adds  Mme.  de  Sevigne  "is 
worth  a  hundred  thousand  francs  to  Baptiste."1  This 
was  no  affectation  on  the  part  of  the  King ;  he  really 
loved  music,  as  can  be  recognised  through  unmis- 
takable signs.  Louis  XIV.  had  throughout  his  life 
the  taste  and  more  than  a  taste  for  music  ;  to  which 
he  added  a  longing  to  be  himself  a  performer,  a 
desire  that  can  never  be  satisfied  with  the  most 
skilled  professional  entertainments.  As  a  youth,  he 
played  the  guitar  and  took  part  in  ensemble  play- 
ing. As  a  man,  he  found  that  he  had  a  good  voice, 
and  knew  how  to  use  it  in  amateur  reunions. 

1  Letter  dated  December  i,  1673. 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  219 

It  can  even  be  said  that  he  sang  not  only  at  suit- 
able but  also  at  unsuitable  moments  :  the  day  after 
the  death  of  his  son,  the  Grand  Dauphin,  the  ladies 
of  the  Palace  heard  with  surprise  the  King  singing 
opera  prologues.  During  his  later  years,  when  it 
was  difficult  to  amuse  him,  Mme.  de  Maintenon 
organized  musicales  in  her  salon  and  Louis  always 
enjoyed  these.  One  evening  when  she  substituted 
vespers l  for  the  scores  of  Lulli,  the  King  made  no 
criticism  and  even  intoned  the  vespers.  Provided 
it  was  music,  all  kinds  were  good ;  but  the  King 
showed  a  certain  predilection  for  the  kind  which  he 
had  seen  created,  already  so  rich  in  new  emotions 
and  which  bore  rare  promise  for  the  future  of  the 
artistic  world,  and  the  monarch  possessed  all  the 
qualites  needed  to  enjoy  it  profoundly. 

The  reader  cannot  fail  to  perceive  through  the 
witness  of  his  frequent  bursts  of  tears  that  Louis 
was  of  a  nervous  disposition,  somewhat  concealed 
under  the  cold  and  calm  exterior  which  he  had  im- 
posed upon  himself.  In  advancing  age,  this  ten- 
dency to  tears  became  almost  a  malady.  Mme.  de 
Maintenon,  in  a  letter  dated  1705,  writing  to  a 
friend  of  the  "  vapours  "  of  the  King  and  of  his 
sombre  humour,  makes  the  remark  that  he  is  "  some- 
times overcome  with  weeping  which  he  cannot 
restrain." 

He  was  a  sensualist  to  whom  themes  of  love  were 
always  attractive.  "  Yield  !  Surrender ! "  the  King 

1  Introduction  par  M.  le  Comte  d*  Haussonville,  aux  Souvenirs  sur  Mme. 
de  Maintenon. 


220  Louis  XIV.  and 

never  ceased  to  repeat  on  his  own  behalf  to  the 
pretty  women  of  his  Court.  For  the  rest,  Quinault 
and  Lulli  made  him  choose  the  subjects  for  their 
operas ;  and  Louis  had  therefore  a  responsibility 
for  the  voluptuousness  which  exhaled  from  their 
works. 

Dramatic  music  has  now  established  itself.  The 
civilised  world  discovers  with  delight  that  this  art 
has  an  unlimited  capacity  for  expressing  passion, 
and  all  the  passions,  even  the  highest,  the  purest, 
and  this  latter  includes  love.  It  has  also  been 
recognised  that  music  can  speak  in  its  own  words 
outside  of  the  theatre,  in  a  symphony,  in  a  simple 
sonata,  and  that  there  exists  no  art  so  benevolent, 
so  reposeful,  and  so  reassuring  to  troubled  souls. 
In  spite  of  this,  in  spite  of  all,  moralists  have  never 
been  willing  to  throw  down  their  weapons  before 
music.  Emanuel  Kant  was  clearly  hostile  to  it ;  he 
said,  "It  enervates  man,"1  and  he  turned  away  his 
disciples  from  its  joys.  Tolstoi  has  been  unkind 
to  it  in  the  Kreutzer  Sonata. 

All  forces  can  become  dangerous  ;  it  depends  on 
the  "  use  made  of  them," 2  and  also  upon  the  souls 
which  receive  the  impulse ;  they  must  be  of  the 
calibre  to  support  its  force. 

The  action  of  music  upon  French  society  has 
never,  so  far  as  I  know,  been  methodically  studied 
in  relation  to  its  effects,  both  physical  and  moral. 
If  a  historian  be  found,  he  will  issue  from  the  psy- 
chological laboratories,  scientifically  equipped,  in 

1  Kant  als  Mensch,  by  Erich  Adickes.  2  Remain  Rolland. 


BOILEAU 
After  the  painting  by  H.  Rigaud 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  221 

which  the  observer  conceals  the  physician  :  on  this 
condition  only  can  he  speak  with  authority. 

The  Grande  Mademoiselle  cared  but  little  for 
music.  Nevertheless  she  extols  Lulli  in  her  Mt- 
moires :  "He  makes  the  most  beatific  airs  in  the 
world."  The  glory  of  Baptiste  touched  her  be- 
cause he  was  "her  own,"  arriving  from  Italy  some 
time  before  the  Fronde.  "  He  came  to  France  with 
my  late  uncle  the  Chevalier  de  Guise.  I  had 
prayed  him  to  bring  me  an  Italian,  with  whom  I 
could  speak  and  learn  the  language." 

Lulli  was  only  a  boy  of  thirteen  at  the  time  that 
he  was  brought  to  France.  Between  the  Italian 
lessons,  he  filled  the  office  of  cook.  Later,  ad- 
mitted among  the  violins  of  Mademoiselle,  it  is  re- 
lated that  he  was  chased  away  for  having  satirised 
his  mistress  in  song.  This  recalls  other  events  : 

I  was  exiled:  he  did  not  wish  to  live  in  the  country:  he 
demanded  leave  to  go  away  :  I  accorded  it,  and  since  he  has 
made  his  fortune,  for  he  is  a  great  merry-andrew. 

Lulli  always  remained  a  buffoon  in  the  mind  of 
Mademoiselle,  although  she  assisted  at  his  triumphs 
and  survived  him. 

Mademoiselle  preserved  the  taste  for  literature 
formed  at  Saint-Fargeau.  Her  name  is  associated 
with  several  incidents,  great  and  small,  of  the 
literary  history  of  the  times.  In  1669,  when  Tar- 
tuffe  was  definitely  authorised,  she  wished  to  have 
it  performed  in  her  salon.  This  fact  is  noteworthy 
as  the  Church  still  forbade  its  representation.  On 


222  Louis  XIV.  and 

August  21,  Mademoiselle  gave  a  f£te.  When  most 
of  the  guests  had  departed,  "Tartuffe,  the  fashion- 
able piece,  was  played  before  twenty  women  and 
numbers  of  men."1  Did  the  end  of  the  phrase 
contain  a  slight  excuse — "  which  was  the  fashion- 
able piece  "  ?  However  this  may  be,  Mademoiselle 
could  boast  to  her  confessor  that  she  had  been 
"  economical "  with  Moliere.  The  entertainment 
at  the  Luxembourg  was  paid  for  with  three  hun- 
dred francs  given  to  the  actors,  the  current  price 
being  for  such  a  performance  five  hundred  and 
fifty  francs.  Thus  the  virtuous  homes  evidenced 
their  piety  ! 

On  another  occasion,  Mademoiselle  had  the  hon- 
our, if  the  Abbe  d'Olivet  may  be  believed,  of  sup- 
plying Moliere  with  an  entire  scene  ready  made  : 
and  what  a  scene  !  Among  the  habitues  of  the 
salon  figured  one  of  the  victims  of  Boileau,  the 
impudent  Abbe  Cotin,  who  not  finding  himself 
sufficiently  ttriltt  (thrashed)  had  provoked  new 
retaliations  in  gossiping  about  Moliere. 

One  day  he  brought  some  verses  of  his  own 
composition  to  the  palace  of  the  Luxembourg  to 
read  them  to  Mademoiselle.  In  the  midst  of  her 
admiration  another  writer,  supposed  to  be  Menage, 
entered.  Mademoiselle  committed  the  error  of 
showing  the  verses  of  the  Abbe  and,  without  men- 
tioning the  name  of  the  author,  of  defending  the 
expressed  opinions.  The  result  was  the  scene  be- 
tween Vadius  and  Trissotin  (at  first  named  "  Tri- 

1  MJmoires  of  Mademoiselle. 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  223 

cotin  "  lest  one  should  be  deceived).  It  was  only 
needful  for  Moliere  to  give  the  touch  of  genius  as 
in  the  sonnet  to  the  Princess  Uranie  and  in  the 
verses  upon  the  Carosse  Amarante.  In  these  two 
cases,  it  is  well  known  that  the  lines  are  copied 
word  for  word  from  a  volume  written  by  the  Abbe 
Cotin.1 

Many  echoes  of  the  grand  literary  battle  of  the 
century2  still  resounded  in  the  Luxembourg.  The 
success  of  the  first  tragedies  of  Racine  irritated  that 
portion  of  the  public,  always  large,  which  has  a 
horror  of  being  disturbed  in  its  habits  of  thought 
by  importunate  novelties.  Such  a  disturbance  is  a 
punishment  to  many  persons,  whether  the  moving 
force  comes  from  literature,  science,  or  art.  There 
are  many  examples  of  this  fixed  state  of  mind  to  be 
found  in  the  past  century :  it  will  suffice  to  recall 
the  struggles  hardly  yet  quieted  between  Pasteur 
and  Wagner. 

Racine  appeared  on  the  scene  as  a  revolutionary 
force.  He  and  Moliere,  sustained  by  their  friend 
Boileau,  presented  a  dramatic  art  absolutely  new, 
which  was  separated  by  a  gulf  from  that  of  Cor- 
neille  and  for  which  nothing  had  prepared  the  way. 
Corneille's  predecessors  were  Mairet,  the  du  Ryers 
and  many  others  :  Racine  stood  alone.  He  was 
the  first  and  the  last  to  make  tragedy  realistic,  with 

1  CEuvres  galante s  en  vers  et  en  prose,  by  M.  Cotin. 

2  For  this  see  Les  Ennemis  de  Racine,  by  F.  Deltour ;  Les  Epoques  du 
Theatre  fran<;ais,  and  Les  Etudes  critiques  sur  F Histoire  de  la  Litterature 

franfaise  by  M.  F.  Brunetiere  ;  the  memoirs  and  correspondence  of  the 
times  ;  the  collection  of  Mercure  galant;  les  prefaces  de  Racine,  etc. 


224  Louis  XIV.  and 

the  subject  simple,  the  characters  scrupulously  true 
to  nature,  and  the  language  often  audaciously 
familiar. 

Louis  XIV.  applauded.  Racine  and  the  King 
well  comprehended  each  other.  Heinrich  Heine 
has  given  the  reason  for  this  in  one  of  those 
phrases  which  throw  light  upon  an  entire  period : 
"  Racine  is  the  first  modern  poet,  as  Louis  XIV. 
was  the  first  modern  King." 

The  young  Court  applauded  cordially  with  the 
King.  It  also  belonged  to  the  new  regime  ;  but  for 
the  old  Court,  for  the  survivors  of  the  H6tel  Ram- 
bouillet,  the  tragedy  of  Racine  was  as  shocking,  as 
displeasing,  as  were  the  first  realistic  romances  to 
the  faithful  adherents  of  romanticism,  and  for  the 
same  reasons.  In  spite  of  the  difficulty  so  many 
have,  of  sympathising  with  the  ideas  of  the  one 
called  a  little  disdainfully  "  the  gentle  Racine,"  "  the 
elegant  Racine,"  this  writer  appeared  neither  gen- 
tle nor  elegant  to  three-fourths  of  the  salon,  to  the 
"old  Court"  of  the  Grande  Mademoiselle.  The 
Pyrrhus  seemed  to  them  "  brutal,"  the  Phedre, 
a  "madwoman"  "the  blackness"  of  Nero  or  Nar- 
cisse  entirely  beyond  what  should  be  permitted  on 
the  stage. 

Not  that  the  personages  of  Corneille  or  of  his 
predecessors  acted  less  wickedly,  but  their  brutes 
and  villains  were  nevertheless  "  heroes "  and  that 
made  all  the  difference.  The  personages  created 
by  Racine  were  only  "  men,"  simple  men,  who 
used  words  "  low  and  grovelling,"  bourgeois  words, 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  225 

expressions  such  as  "  Quoi  qu'il  en  soit,  que  fais  je, 
que  dis-je  I"1  and  did  not  even  realise  the  sense  : 
more  than  three  hundred  improper  terms  have  been 
counted  in  Andromaque.  Racine  would  have  fared 
better  if  his  poetic  methods  had  not  been  in  some 
way  a  criticism  upon  the  cleverness  of  Corneille. 
This  was  the  real  grievance,  obliging  the  adorers  of 
the  old  poet  to  condemn  the  insolent  one. 

Mme.  de  Sevigne,  who  could  not  always  pre- 
vent herself,  although  "  mad  with  Corneille,"  from 
admiring  Racine,  or  from  letting  him  perceive 
it,  hastened  to  correct  herself  when  this  hap- 
pened. She  wrote  to  her  daughter,  "  Bajazet 
is  beautiful,"  and  added  six  lines  further  on,  as 
a  person  who  has  a  reproach  to  make,  "  Believe 
me,  nothing  will  approach  (I  do  not  say  surpass) 
some  divine  passages  of  Corneille."  Having  thus 
regulated  her  conscience,  she  returned  to  Bajazet 
to  avow  that  she  had  "wept  more  than  twenty 
tears"  (letter  dated  January  15,  1672),  but  her  letter 
evidently  left  her  with  a  slight  feeling  of  discomfort. 
Two  months  later,  she  attenuated  the  praise  of  the 
new  piece,  to  which  she  now  accorded  only  "  agree- 
able things,"  and  declared  Corneille  to  be  another 
order  of  genius  :  u  My  daughter,  let  us  take  care  not 
to  compare  Racine  with  him,  let  us  well  perceive 
the  difference  ! " 

Almost  all  of  Mademoiselle's  generation  showed 
themselves  as  jealous  as  Mme.  de  Sevigne  for  the 
glory  of  Corneille.  To  the  admiration  inspired  by 

1  Criticism  by  Boursault. 


226  Louis  XIV.  and 

his  genius  is  added  the  tender  gratitude  that  we 
guard  for  works  in  which  live  again  the  ideals  of 
our  youth.  It  is  our  own  thoughts,  our  fine  dreams 
of  early  days,  that  we  love  in  these  productions. 

The  tragedy  of  Racine  signified  that  the  day  of 
Corneille  had  passed ;  its  success  indicated  the  inroad 
of  new  ideas  and  pointed  definitely  to  the  fact  that 
those  faithful  to  the  ancient  worship  had  really  been 
relegated  to  the  position  of  old  fogies.  This  is 
never  an  agreeable  position  when  one  feels  still 
alive  and  with  no  very  active  realisation  that  old 
age  is  approaching.  People  of  letters  are  the  first 
to  suffer  from  these  revolutions  of  taste  which  leave 
surviving  only  works  of  the  first  rank  while  the  rest 
are  cast  away  into  oblivion. 

As  we  know,  the  litterateurs  who  frequented  the 
salon  of  Mademoiselle  were  all  enemies  of  Racine, 
half  on  account  of  loyalty  to  Corneille,  half  on  their 
own  behalf,  through  an  instinct  of  self-preservation. 
Besides  Manage  and  the  Abbe  Cotin,  whom  we  have 
lately  encountered  speaking  frankly  to  each  other, 
besides  the  amiable  Segrais  whose  literary  powers 
were  too  light  to  lead  him  far,  there  was  the  Abbe* 
Boyer,  whose  tragedies  Segrais  desired  to  be  par- 
doned, because  he  was  a  "  sufficiently  good  academi- 
cian," and  that  worthy  old  man  De  Chapelain, 
illustrious  until  the  day  upon  which  his  verses  went 
to  press.  There  was  some  reason  for  accusing 
Mademoiselle  of  having  been  the  "centre  of  the 
opposition  to  the  new  poetry."  l  To  say  this  is, 

1  Deltour,  Les  Ennemies  de  Racine. 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  227 

however,  to  exaggerate  her  r6le.  We  shall  see  later 
that  she  was  far  too  occupied  in  living  through  her 
own  tragedy  to  be  actively  interested  in  those  being 
enacted  upon  the  boards.  Loaded  with  injuries 
and  calumnies  by  the  Vadius  and  the  Trissotins, 
menaced  with  thrashings  by  the  aristocratic  protect- 
ors of  these  great  men  of  the  salon,  Racine  ran  the 
risk  of  being  crushed,  and  was  saved  only  by  the 
signal  favour  of  the  King.  Neither  he  nor  Moliere 
would  have  accomplished  their  work  if  Louis  XIV. 
had  not  sustained  them  against  all  critics.  This  is 
a  service  for  which  we  should  not  limit  our  grati- 
tude. The  reflection  upon  this  great  debt  arouses 
a  tenderness  towards  a  Prince  with  whom  we  are 
otherwise  not  always  sympathetic. 

It  is  possible  that  there  was  some  politics  in  his 
attitude.  The  success  of  writers  so  new  fell  in 
well  with  his  design  of  making  a  tabula  rasa  of  the 
detested  past :  but  after  all  the  main  reason  for 
which  protection  was  accorded  was  affection. 

When  Louis  XIV.  laughed  "  even  till  his  sides 
ached " 1  over  the  Ecole  des  Femmes,  at  which 
amusement  the  dtvots  and  prudes  were  indignant, 
when  he  saved  the  Plaideurs,  almost  hissed  in  the 
Hotel  de  Bourgogne,  by  "  bursts  of  laughter,  so 
great  that  the  Court  was  astonished,"  2  there  was  no 
calculation  :  he  was  honestly  amused,  like  any  one 
else.  It  was  also  a  true  and  frank  admiration  which 
caused  him  to  dry  his  tears  at  Iphigenie,  and  to 

1  Gazette  de  Loret,  January  13,  1663. 

3  Me'moires  sur  la  vie  et  les  ouvrages  de  Jean  Racine,  by  Louis  Racine. 


228  Louis  XIV.  and 

order  the  repetition  of  Mithridate.  He  loved  the 
*'  new  "  for  two  reasons  :  because  he  had  good  taste, 
and  because  the  heroes  of  the  later  writers  were  of 
the  kind  needful  for  his  generation.  It  has  been 
seen  how  marvellously  Moliere  and  the  King  under- 
stood each  other,  and  the  mention  of  Racine  recalls 
to  us  the  profound  phrase  of  Heine.  Racine  re- 
vealed himself  in  the  Andromaque  as  the  "  first 
modern  poet."  Hermione  and  Oreste  have  only  a 
distant  relationship  with  the  heroes  of  Corneille. 
They  are  already  "those  possessed  by  love,  the 
great  passionates  with  whom  love  becomes  a  malady, 
who  love  to  the  brink  of  crime,  and  even  till  death." 

With  these  characters,  it  can  be  said  that  modern 
love,  profound,  tender,  melancholy,  impregnated 
with  soul,  and  at  the  same  time  troubled  by  the  ob- 
scure influences  of  the  nervous  life,  makes  its 
entrance  into  French  literature.  Oreste  shows  a 
sadness,  a  despair,  a  madness,  which  a  century  and 
a  half  later  burst  forth  in  love  romances.  Louis 
XIV.  had  not  waited  for  Racine  for  his  education 
in  passion.  When  Marie  Mancini  fascinated  him, 
he  was  one  of  the  first  examples  of  the  modern  type 
of  those  "  possessed  by  love,"  and  he  had  never  for- 
gotten this  crisis ;  in  fact  he  never  forgot  anything. 
This  episode  in  the  life  of  the  young  King  had  been 
a  good  apprenticeship  for  the  comprehending  of  the 
love  of  Oreste  or  of  Phedre  as  the  true  love  malady, 
as  a  fatality  against  which  our  single  will  is  only  a 
feeble  weapon. 

Around  the   King,    Mme.    Henriette,   Mme.   de 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  229 

Montespan,  all  the  young  Court  and  some  shrewd 
spirits  of  the  old,  with  Conde  at  the  head,  rendered 
justice  to  the  truth  of  the  "  anatomies  of  the  heart," 
in  the  tragedy  of  Racine.  Mademoiselle  was  in- 
capable of  this ;  she  believed  too  firmly  in  the 
superhuman  strength  of  the  heroes  of  Corneille, 
with  whom  the  will  laughs  at  resistance,  whether 
the  opposition  arises  in  the  soul  or  in  the  exterior 
world,  to  admit  the  fatality  of  passion.  Neverthe- 
less, it  was  the  Grande  Mademoiselle  herself  who 
was  going  to  demonstrate  clearly  to  all  France  that 
it  was  impossible  to  escape  fate,  when  this  fate 
points  to  love.  Here  we  meet  the  great  misfortune 
of  her  life! 

An  atmosphere  of  passion,  and  an  intimacy  with 
people  whose  sole  occupation  was  to  render  them- 
selves attractive,  was  somewhat  dangerous  for  an 
old  maid,  sensitive  without  realising  it.  Mademoi- 
selle had  the  singular  desire,  which  later  cost  her 
dearly,  to  make  an  ally  of  Mme.  de  Montespan 
and  thus  to  form  a  part  of  the  chosen  society  of 
the  Court. 

She  sought  the  company  of  the  mistress  and  re- 
ceived service  from  her.  Mme.  de  Montespan  was 
her  interpreter  with  the  King.  In  return  Mademoi- 
selle endeavoured  to  calm  M.  de  Montespan  who, 
for  serious  or  for  trival  reasons  1  "  flew  into  pas- 
sions," like  a  "  madman  "  or  "  wild  person,"  against 
Madame  his  wife.  "  He  is  my  relative  and  I  scolded 

1  See  the  volume  by  MM.  Jean  Lemoine  and  Andre  Lichtenberger,  De 
La  Valltire  &  Montespan. 


230  Louis  XIV.  and 

him,"  says  the  Mtmoires  of  Mademoiselle.  As  a 
connoisseur,  Mademoiselle  hugely  enjoyed  the 
original  wit  of  Mme.  de  Montespan.  The  pleasure 
found  in  returning  the  ball  in  conversation  was  the 
foundation  of  the  intimacy. 

With  the  growing  idleness  of  the  Court,  pleasure 
in  pure  cleverness  increased.  The  play  of  the  mind 
was  the  sole  resource  against  ennui.  Wit,  no 
matter  at  whose  expense,  became  the  enjoyment. 
The  wise  and  prudent  Mme.  de  Maintenon  suc- 
cumbed like  Mademoiselle,  when  her  turn  came,  to 
the  irresistible  charm  of  a  conversation  which  "  ren- 
ders agreeable  the  most  serious  matters,  and  en- 
nobles the  most  trivial."  1 

During  the  sharpest  quarrel  between  Mademoi- 
selle and  Mme.  de  Montespan,  the  enjoyment  of 
the  opponent's  wit  was  so  keen  that  they  parted 
with  pain.  "  Mme.  de  Montespan  and  I,"  wrote 
Mme.  de  Maintenon  in  i68i,2  "have  to-day  taken 
a  walk,  holding  each  other's  arms  and  laughing 
heartily ;  we  are  not  more  in  accord  for  this." 
There  can  never  be  too  much  cleverness,  but  there 
is  an  inconvenience  in  there  being  nothing  behind 
the  wit,  and  this  is  one  of  the  rocks  towards  which 
Louis  XIV.  was  pushing  the  French  nobility.  He 
made  it  impossible  for  those  pacing  his  antechambers 
to  indulge  in  any  intellectual  effort  other  than  that 
of  seeking  pretty  phrases  to  amuse  the  listeners. 

1  Souvenirs  sur  Mme.  de  Maintenon. — Les  Cahiers  de  Mile.  d'Aumale, 
with  an  Introduction  by  M.  G.  Hanotaux. 
3  May  27,  to  M.  de  Montchevreuil. 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  231 

A  gentleman  of  quality  commences  his  day  at 
eight  in  the  morning  standing  in  waiting  before  the 
door  of  the  king.  Salutes  are  given  and  returned. 
The  elegants  comb  their  locks,  glancing  out  of  the 
corner  of  their  eyes  at  those  entering.  Moliere 
permits  us  to  be  present  at  the  "  final  assault " 
through  verses  but  little  known  : 

Grattez  du  peigne  a  la  porte 1 

De  la  chambre  du  Roi ; 

Ou  si,  comme  je  prevoi, 

La  presse  s'y  trouve  forte, 

Montrez  de  loin  v6tre  chapeau, 

Ou  montez  sur  quelque  chose 

Pour  faire  voir  votre  museau, 

Et  criez  sans  aucune  pause, 

D'un  ton  rien  moins  que  naturel ; 

"  Monsieur  1'  huissier,  pour  le  marquis  un  tel" 

Jetez-vous  dans  la  foule,  et  tranchez  du  notable, 

Coudoyez  un  chacun,  point  du  tout  quartier, 

Pressez,  poussez,  faites  le  diable 

Pour  vous  mettre  le  premier.2 

M.  le  Marquis  enters.  The  chamber  is  already 
crowded.  He  "gains  ground  step  by  step,"  suc- 
ceeds in  seeing  the  King  put  on  his  shoes,  for  Louis 
performs  this  act  with  his  own  royal  hands,  and 
thus  passes  the  first  hour.  The  exciting  event  is 
repeated  in  the  evening  when  the  King  takes  off  his 
shoes.  The  Marquis  had  already,  at  one  o'clock, 
witnessed  the  consumption  of  the  royal  soup,  and 
two  or  three  times  in  the  course  of  the  day  had  de- 
lighted his  eyes  with  the  sight  of  the  King  passing 

1  " Frappez"  would  have  been  misunderstood. 
5  Remerciement  au  Roi  (1663). 


232  Louis  XIV.  and 

to  and  fro  on  his  way  to  mass  or  to  take  the  fresh 
air. 

During"  the  intervals,  the  courtiers  were  charged 
with  certain  puerile  occupations.  The  round  of 
homages  were  made  to  the  various  members  of  the 
royal  family  and  the  prominent  personages  of  the 
day,  and  there  was  gambling  and  other  pleasures. 
The  only  relief  for  this  complete  idleness  was  to  be 
found  in  an  active  campaign  if  there  happened  to  be 
a  war  on  hand.  Let  the  courtier  be  admired  for  be- 
ing able  under  such  adverse  circumstances  to  keep 
his  wit  awake  and  alert  for  attack  and  response, 
and  also  for  the  capacity  of  finding  the  military 
virtues  when  again  called  upon  to  exercise  them. 

Fortunately,  the  latter  virtues  were  deeply  in- 
grained in  the  breasts  of  the  French  gentlemen  of 
this  period,  and  it  is  not  to  their  discredit  if  the 
other  faculties,  mental  and  physical,  the  exercise 
of  which  was  plainly  discouraged  by  the  King, 
should  have  so  fallen  into  disuse  that  their  children 
suffered.  The  final  descendants  of  four  or  five 
generations  of  those  living  this  absurd  life  were  the 
tmigrts  of  the  great  Revolution,  all  heroes,  almost 
all  clever,  or  at  least  appearing  so,  and  in  general 
people  of  wit,  but  without  character.  This  fact  can 
hardly  be  too  much  emphasised :  never  has  a 
monarch  laboured  with  greater  skill  and  method 
than  Louis  XIV.  in  the  successful  attempt  to  anni- 
hilate the  nobility  and  to  ruin  its  reputation.  This 
is  one  of  the  most  serious  souvenirs  of  the  wars  of 
the  Fronde. 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  233 

It  was  with  the  women  as  with  the  men — the 
same  subjection,  the  same  emptiness  of  life,  from 
which  arose  the  weakness  of  Mademoiselle  for  Mme. 
de  Montespan.  The  situation  of  recognised  mis- 
tress "  affects  nothing  "  ;  Mademoiselle  had  never 
considered  that  the  virtue  of  others  concerned  her. 
The  novelty  of  the  situation,  the  unexpected  pre- 
rogatives accruing  to  the  new  position,  and  the  habits 
resulting,  gave  rise  to  some  of  the  most  curious 
incidents  of  the  reign,  and  also  strengthened  an 
intimacy  which  survived  many  shocks. 

As  soon  as  Louis  XIV.  formally  established  his 
mistresses  at  Court,  it  had  been  needful  to  frame 
new  rules  of  etiquette.  At  first  these  rules  were  un- 
derstood rather  than  formulated,  but  contemporary 
writers  give  evidence  of  their  existence.  It  was 
the  new  regulations  which  gave  scandal,  rather  than 
the  fact  of  a  weakness  too  common  to  all  men  of  all 
times.  The  people  had  found  the  phrase  suitable 
enough  when  it  ran  to  gaze  on  "  the  three  queens  " 
in  one  carriage ;  Mile,  de  La  Valliere  and  Mme. 
de  Montespan  were  publicly  at  the  same  time  oc- 
cupying the  rank  of  secondary  wives  to  the  King. 
When  the  royal  family  made  its  solemn  visits  to  any 
of  its  members  who  were  mortally  ill,  these  two 
ladies  arrived  after  the  King  and  Queen.  Made- 
moiselle met  them  at  the  deathbed  of  Mme.  Henri- 
ette  ;  "  Mme.  de  Montespan  and  La  Valliere  came." 
She  met  them  again  over  the  cradle  of  a  daughter 
of  Louis  XIV.  and  of  Marie-Therese,  who  died  as 
an  infant.  "  I  found  her  in  the  last  extremity.  .  .  . 


234  Louis  XIV.  and 

We  staid  almost  the  entire  night  watching  her  die  ; 
Mme.  de  Montespan  and  Mme.  de  La  Valliere  were 
also  there."  The  latter  escaped  from  such  honours 
as  often  as  she  could.  Mme.  de  Montespan  liked 
them  better,  and  added  to  them.  She  had  placed 
herself  upon  the  footing  of  the  Queen  in  regard  to 
ordinary  visits,  which  she  never  returned.  "  Never," 
says  Saint-Simon,  "  not  even  to  Monsieur  or 
Madame  or  to  the  Grande  Mademoiselle,  or  to  the 
Hdtel  de  Conde." 

The  same  hauteur  was  displayed  in  the  manner 
of  receiving  the  princes  and  princesses  of  the  blood, 
and  this  "  exterior  of  Queen  "  followed  her  into  the 
retreat !  All  were  accustomed  to  it. 

"  The  habit  of  respect  was  preserved  without 
murmur,"  says  again  Saint-Simon,  who  recalled 
Mme.  de  Montespan,  disgraced  and  passing  her 
time  in  penitence,  nevertheless  continuing  to  hold 
court  in  her  convent,1  with  as  royal  an  etiquette  as 
at  Saint-Germain  or  Versailles  : 

The  back  of  her  armchair  was  formed  by  the  foot-piece  of 
the  bed,  and  there  was  no  other  chair  in  the  room.  Monsieur 
and  the  Grande  Mademoiselle  had  always  loved  her,  and  often 
went  to  see  her;  for  these,  chairs  were  brought,  and  also  for 
Madame  la  Princesse;  but  Mme.  de  Montespan  did  not  dream 
of  deranging  herself  for  her  own  people  nor  for  those  they 
brought  with  them.  .  .  .  One  can  judge  by  this  how  she 
received  "  all  the  world." 

The  uall  the  world,"  which  included  some  of  the 

1  The  Convent  of  Saint-Joseph,  rue  Saint  Dominique  ;  Mme.  de  Monte- 
span had  constructed  in  it  an  apartment  for  herself. 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  235 

most  distinguished,  contented  themselves  with  small 
"  chairs  with  backs,"  or  simple  camp  stools.  No 
one  was  offended,  and  "  all  France  came  "  ;  I  do  not 
know  by  what  fantasy  it  was  considered  a  duty  to 
make  visits  from  time  to  time.  She  spoke  to  each 
like  a  queen  holding  her  court,  who  honours  in  ad- 
dressing." Marie-Therese  herself,  in  the  time  in 
which  Mme.  de  Montespan  was  the  actual  sover- 
eign, had  submitted  to  the  long  empire  of  custom. 
In  1675, tne  fourth  year  of  the  war  in  Holland,  Louis 
XIV.  being  with  the  army  while  Mme.  de  Monte- 
span  was  at  her  chateau  at  Clagny,  one  of  their 
sons  was  "slightly  ill."1  The  Queen  considered 
it  her  duty  to  visit  the  child  and  to  comfort  the 
mother.  She  went  to  seek  Mme  de  Montespan, 
and  led  her  one  day  to  the  Trianon,  another  to  dine 
in  some  favourite  convent,  an  example  which 
brought  the  crowd  to  Clagny  and  made  an  end  of 
hesitancy.  "  The  wife  of  her  firm  (solide)  friend," 
wrote  Mme.  de  Sevigne,  "  visited  her,  and  after- 
ward the  entire  family  in  turn.  She  takes  pre- 
cedence of  all  the  Duchesses."  (July  3,  1675.) 

There  had  been  a  time  in  which  this  fashion  of 
ignoring  rank  would  have  excited  the  indignation 
of  Mademoiselle  ;  but  this  time  was  far  distant, 
farther  than  she  herself  realised.  In  1667  she  had 
cried  very  loud  because  her  second  sister,  Made- 
moiselle d'Alengon,  had  made  a  mesalliance  in 
marrying  a  simple  seigneur,  the  Due  de  Guise, 

1  The  Comte  de  Vexin,  who  died  young. — Mme.  de  Sevigne,  letter  dated 
June  14,  1675. 


236  Louis  XIV.  and  La  Grande  Mademoiselle 

and  she  had  looked  very  gloomily  at  the  pair.  The 
time  had  passed  for  such  pride,  as  the  poor  woman 
was  herself  ready  for  a  worse  mesalliance.  Her 
patience  was  at  an  end.  Her  agitation  while  Louis 
XIV.  was  attempting  marriage  negotiations  with 
the  Due  de  Savoie  must  not  be  forgotten.  No 
prince  had  thought  of  her  since  this  affront.  She 
was  considered  too  old.  She  would  not  confess 
this  to  be  the  case,  but  she  felt  it,  and  a  tempest 
gathered  in  the  depths  of  her  heart.  The  storm 
burst  in  1669.  It  is  impossible  to  say  in  what 
measure  nature  alone  was  responsible,  and  what 
was  due  to  the  atmosphere  of  moral  disorder  and 
voluptuousness  which  Mademoiselle  was  now  in- 
haling at  the  Court  in  the  frequent  companionship 
of  the  favourite.  One  thing  is  certain,  the  Grande 
Mademoiselle  did  not  try  to  struggle  against  the 
passion  which  seized  her  ;  her  attitude  was  rather 
that  of  a  person  who  sought  its  sway. 


CHAPTER  V 

The  Grande  Mademoiselle  in  Love — Sketch  of  Lauzun  and  their  Romance — 
The  Court  on  its  Travels — Death  of  Madame — Announcement  of  the 
Marriage  of  Mademoiselle — General  Consternation — Louis  XIV.  Breaks 
the  Affair. 

IN  the  spring  of  1669,  Louis  XIV.  one  day  was 
listening  to  the  Comtesse  de  Soissons  sing. 
She  was  the  second  of  the  Mazarin  nieces,  and  the 
only  really  wicked  one  in  the  family.  She  sang 
a  new  song  containing  many  naughty  couplets, 
in  which  mud  was  thrown  upon  some  of  the  court- 
iers. Men  and  women  received  their  packet  under 
the  guise  of  mock  praise,  according  to  a  fashion 
much  in  vogue.  The  phrase  "  mock  praise  "  had 
become  the  name  of  a  form  of  satire,  which  made 
an  almost  unique  literature.  The  King  permitted 
the  couplets  to  pass  in  silence.  He  did  not  even 
protest  at  this  one  : 

Et  pour  M.  Le  Grand,1 
II  est  tout  mystere; 
Quand  il  est  galant, 
II  a  comme  La  Valliere 
L'esprit  penetrant. 

1  The  Grande  Equerry,  Louis  de  Lorraine,  Comte  d'  Armagnac. 

237 


238  Louis  XIV.  and 

The  Countess  then  arrived  at  a  couplet  on  Puy- 
guilhem,  better  known  under  the  name  of  Lauzun.1 

De  la  cour 

La  vertu  la  plus  pure 

Est  en  Peguilin.     .     .     . 

At  this  place  the  King  interrupted :  "  If  it  is 
wished  to  vex  him,  they  are  wrong,  but  when  peo- 
ple act  as  he  has  done,  they  must  be  let  alone  ;  as 
for  others,  they  are  badly  treated."  The  sudden 
displeasure  of  the  King  at  the  mention  of  Puy- 
guilhem  caused  a  general  silence,  and  the  song 
stopped  at  this  point. 

The  Grande  Mademoiselle  was  present  at  this 
scene,  and  was  surprised  to  discover  that  she  was 
not  indifferent  to  its  import.  Up  to  this  time,  she 
had  scarcely  known  Lauzun,  who  did  not  belong  to 
her  coterie.  "It  pleased  me,"  says  her  Memoir es, 
"  to  hear  the  manner  in  which  the  King  spoke  of 
him  ;  I  felt  some  instinct  of  the  future."  This  was 
the  first  warning  of  the  passion  which  had  already 
insinuated  itself  into  the  depths  of  her  heart ;  but 
she  did  not  yet  comprehend  it.  The  idea  came  to 
her,  however,  of  seizing  an  occasion  to  converse 
with  Lauzun.  She  felt  an  inclination  for  this  at 
once.  "  He  has,"  said  she,  "  a  manner  of  explain- 
ing himself  which  is  very  extraordinary."  Made- 
moiselle was  interested,  but  she  still  believed 
that  it  was  only  the  conversational  capacity  which 

1  The  Marquis  de  Puyguilhem  (written  Peguilin)  had  taken  the  name  of 
Comte  de  Lauzun  the  following  January.  The  latter  title  will  be  used  in 
this  volume. 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  239 

pleased  her  in  the  little  cadet  of  Gascony.  She  be- 
gan to  query,  however,  why,  having  been  sufficiently 
content  during  her  five  years  of  exile,  she  was  now 
so  willing  to  remain  a  fixture.  The  year  had  ended 
before  she  found  a  satisfactory  response  to  this 
question  :  "  I  went  in  the  month  of  December  (the 
6th)  to  Saint-Germain,  from  which  I  did  not  de- 
part. I  soon  accustomed  myself  to  it.  Ordinarily, 
I  only  stayed  three  or  four  days,  and  my  present 
long  sojourn  surprised  every  one." 

On  the  3  ist,  she  decided  at  length  to  return  to 
Paris  :  "  I  was  very  bored  there,  and  could  not  dis- 
cover what  I  had  done  at  Saint-Germain  which 
had  so  much  diverted  me."  She  hastened  to  re- 
join the  Court,  without  knowing  why,  and  com- 
menced again  her  conversations  with  Lauzun,  but 
still  remained  unconscious  of  any  sentiment.  She 
only  knew  that  she  was  troubled  and  agitated,  and 
discontented  with  her  condition,  and  that  she  felt  a 
desire  to  marry.  The  desire  dated  back  a  long 
time,  but  of  late  it  had  become  so  insistent 
that  Mademoiselle  was  forced  to  examine  herself 
seriously. 

The  passage  in  which  she  relates  her  discovery 
is  charmingly  natural  and  significantly  true : 

I  reasoned  with  myself  (for  I  did  not  speak  to  any  one) 
and  I  said,  *  this  is  no  longer  a  vague  thought  ;  it  must  have 
some  object.'  I  did  not  discover  who  it  was.  I  sought,  I 
dreamed,  but  could  not  find  out.  Finally,  after  some  days  of 
anxiety,  I  perceived  that  it  was  M.  de  Lauzun  whom  I  loved, 
who  had  glided  into  my  heart.  I  thought  him  the  most 


240  Louis  XIV.  and 

worthy  man  in  the  world,  the  most  agreeable  ;  nothing  was 
lacking  to  make  me  happy  but  a  husband  like  him,  whom  I 
should  love  and  who  would  love  me  devotedly  ;  that  hereto- 
fore I  had  never  been  loved  ;  that  it  was  necessary  once  in 
life  to  taste  the  sweetness  of  being  adored  by  some  one,  which 
would  make  worth  while  the  sufferings  caused  by  the  pangs  of 
love. 

This  explanation  of  her  own  heart  was  followed 
by  days  of  intoxication.  Mademoiselle  lived  in  a 
dream,  and  all  was  easy,  all  was  arranged  :  "It  ap- 
peared to  me  that  I  found  more  pleasure  in  seeing 
him  and  in  talking  to  him  than  heretofore  ;  that  the 
days  in  which  he  was  absent,  I  was  bored,  and  I 
believe  that  the  same  feeling  came  to  him  ;  that  he 
did  not  care  to  confess  this,  but  the  pains  he  took 
to  come  wherever  he  was  likely  to  meet  me  made 
the  fact  clear."  In  the  absence  of  Lauzun,  she 
sought  solitude  in  order  to  think  of  him  freely. 
"  I  was  delighted  to  be  alone  in  my  chamber ;  I 
formed  plans  of  what  I  could  do  for  him  which 
would  give  him  a  higher  position." 

One  single  thought,  characteristic  of  her  genera- 
tion, came  to  trouble  her  happiness ;  she  queried 
of  herself  if  the  great  princesses  of  the  theatre  of 
Corneille  would  have  married  a  cadet  of  Gascogne. 
Assuredly,  passion  blows  where  it  listeth.  Cor- 
neille had  never  denied  this  ;  but  he  had  main- 
tained that  the  will  should  render  us  masters  of  our 
affections,  and  his  plays  bear  witness  that  love, 
even  when  founded  in  a  just  feeling  of  admiration, 
can  efface  itself  before  the  sentiment  of  the  duty 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  241 

owed  to  rank.  Happily,  poets,  even  when  they 
are  named  Corneille,  sometimes  contradict  them- 
selves, and  Mademoiselle,  who  had  seen  plays  since 
the  days  of  swaddling  clothes,  well  knew  her  rtper- 
toire.  She  now  recalled  for  her  comfort  a  passage 
in  the  Suite  du  Menteur  which  clearly  established 
the  "  predestination  of  marriage,  and  the  foresight 
of  God,"  so  that  it  was  a  Christian  duty  to  sub- 
mit without  resistance  to  sentiments  sent  to  us 
"from  the  sky." 

Although  sure  of  her  own  memory,  which  was 
indeed  excellent,  Mademoiselle  sent  in  great  haste 
to  Paris  to  secure  a  copy  of  the  play,  and  found 
the  page  (Act  IV.)  in  which  Melisse  confides  to 
Lise  his  love  for  Dorante : 

Quand  les  ordres  du  ciel  nous  ont  faits  Tun  pour  1'autre, 

Lise,  c'est  un  accord  bientot  fait  que  le  notre. 

Sa  main  entre  les  cceurs,  par  un  secret  pouvoir, 

Seme  1'intelligence  avant  que  de  se  voir  ; 

II  prepare  si  bien  1'amant  et  la  maitresse, 

Que  leur  ame  au  seul  nom  s'e"meut  et  s'interesse. 

On  s'estime,  on  se  cherche,  on  s'aime  en  un  moment  ; 

Tout  ce  qu'on  s'entredit  persuade  aisement ; 

Et,  sans  s'inquieter  de  mille  peurs  frivoles, 

La  foi  semble  courir  au-devant  des  paroles. 

How  was  it  possible  to  doubt  for  a  single  instant 
after  having  read  these  verses  that  there  is  ijnpiety 
in  disobeying  the  "  commands  "  to  love  which  come 
to  us  from  on  high  ?  Nevertheless,  serious  con- 
flicts took  place  in  the  soul  of  the  royal  pupil  of 
Corneille.  Sometimes  she  represented  to  herself 


16 


242  Louis  XIV.  and 

with  vivacity  the  joys  of  marriage,  among  the  keen- 
est of  which  would  be  the  witnessing  the  vexation 
of  her  heirs,  who  were  already  beginning  to  find 
that  she  was  making  them  wait  too  long,  and  whom 
she  longed  to  disappoint.  Sometimes  her  mind 
could  only  dwell  upon  the  scandal  which  such  a 
mesalliance  would  cause,  the  reprobation  of  some, 
and  the  laughter  of  others,  and  then  her  pride  rose 
in  arms.  She  thus  on  one  day  desired  the  mar- 
riage eagerly,  while  on  the  next  she  detested  the 
thought  of  it,  the  vacillation  depending  upon  the 
fact  of  her  having  between  times  seen  or  not  seen 
M.  de  Lauzun. 

This  struggle  between  the  head  and  the  heart 
was  prolonged  during  several  weeks ; 

finally,  after  having  often  passed  and  repassed  the  pro  and 
con  through  my  brain,  my  heart  decided  the  affair,  and  it  was 
in  the  Church  of  Recollects  in  which  I  took  my  final  resolu- 
tion. Never  had  I  felt  so  much  devotion  in  church,  and  those 
who  regarded  me  perceived  that  I  was  much  absorbed;  I  be- 
lieve that  God  surprised  me  with  His  commands.  The  next 
day,  which  was  the  second  of  March,  I  was  very  gay. 

If  Mademoiselle  had  been  of  the  age  of  Juliet, 
this  would  have  been  a  pretty  romance.  But  she 
was  perhaps  slightly  too  mature  to  play  with  the 
grand  passion. 

The  man  who  was  the  cause  of  these  agitations 
is  one  of  the  best-known  figures  of  his  times. 
Traces  of  him  are  found  in  all  the  contemporary 
writings.  The  singularity  of  his  personality  joined 
to  the  prodigies  of  his  luck,  good  and  bad,  had 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  243 

made  him  an  object  of  interest  to  his  contempora- 
ries. It  was  of  him  that  La  Bruyere  said  :  "  No 
one  can  guess  how  he  lives."1  The  political  world, 
the  ministers  at  the  head,  observed  him  with  an 
anxious  attention,  because  he  had  accomplished  the 
miracle  of  becoming  the  favourite  of  the  King, 
while  possessing  precisely  the  defects  which  Louis 
XIV.  feared  the  most.  Lauzun  did  not  attain  the 
position  of  such  a  favourite  as  the  Constable  de 
Luynes  under  Louis  XIII.,  but  he  secured  suffi- 
cient influence  to  accumulate  offices  and  honours. 

Antonin  Nompar  de  Caumont,  Marquis  de  Puy- 
guilhem,  later  Comte  de  Lauzun,  was  born  in  1633 
(or  1632)  of  an  ancient  family  of  Perigord.  His 
parents  had  nine  children  and  nothing  to  give  to 
the  younger  ones ;  but  their  birth  assured  to  this 
youthful  throng  access  to  the  Court  and  hope  of 
aid  from  it.  The  third  of  the  boys  resembled 
Poucet  in  form  and  also  possessed  his  keenness  of 
mind.  It  was  decided  to  send  him  to  seek  his  for- 
tune, not  in  the  forest,  as  with  the  hero  of  the  tale, 
but  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Court  of  France,  the  par- 
ents being  convinced  that  with  his  acuteness  he 
would  not  permit  himself  to  be  eaten  by  the  ogre, 
but  would  rather  succeed  in  devouring  others. 

The  Marechal  de  Gramont,  first  cousin  of  the 
old  Lauzun,  saw  arrive  at  his  mansion  a  very  little 
man,  with  the  face  of  "a  flayed  cat,"2  surrounded 
with  flaxen  hair,  who  claimed  to  be  fourteen  years 

1  See  the  portrait  of  Straton  in  the  chapter  entitled  "  De  la  Cour." 

2  Saint-Simon,  Merits  intdits. 


244  Louis  XIV.  and 

of  age.     This  grotesque  person  was  as  lively  as  a 
sparrow  and  Gascon  to  the  tips  of  his  fingers. 

The  Marshal  kept  him  and  provided  for  his 
education.  In  winter  the  little  man  went  to  the 
"  academy "  to  learn  to  dance,  to  shoot,  and  to 
ride.  In  the  summer  he  campaigned  with  a  cavalry 
regiment  belonging  to  his  uncle.  There  was  ap- 
parently no  plan  for  serious  study  of  any  kind,  nor 
even  any  attention  paid  to  making  the  youth  read. 
Complete  ignorance  was  still  accepted  among  the 
nobility  without  remark ;  there  had  been  little 
change  for  the  better  in  this  respect  since  the  pre- 
vious century.  The  parents  of  Lauzun  had  well 
judged.  In  a  short  time  the  boy  had  wormed  him- 
self into  the  most  imposing  mansions,  the  most 
sacred  chambers.  He  was  seen  with  the  King,  he 
was  met  in  the  company  of  beautiful  ladies.  The 
Court  and  the  city  became  familiar  with  his  fur- 
tive and  impudent  physiognomy,  which  soon  grew 
haughty  and  insolent.  At  eighteen,  his  father  gave 
him  his  first  military  charge.  At  twenty-four,  he 
possessed  a  regiment ;  then  suddenly,  when  the 
King  came  to  power,  he  received  advancements, 
favours,  an  always  increasing  and  inexplicable 
credit,  which  aroused  for  him  the  hatred  of  Lou- 
vois,  for  in  the  frequent  discussions  in  relation  to 
the  service,  "  the  favourite  always  conquered." 
One  of  his  tricks,  which  was  unparalleled  for  im- 
pudence, and  the  discovery  of  which  might  well 
have  crushed  him  for  ever,  ended  in  proving  his 
strength. 


Cliche  Braun,  Clement  &  Cie. 
DUG  DE   LAUZUN 
By  permission  of  Messrs.  Hachette  &  Co. 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  245 

.,-|D 

At  about  the  time  when  he  attracted  the  atten- 
tion of  the  Grande  Mademoiselle,  the  insatiable 
little  man  extracted  from  his  master  (under  the 
condition  of  secrecy  for  fear  of  Louvois)  the  pro- 
mise of  being  shortly  made  Grand  Master  of  Ar- 
tillery. Lauzun  was  foolish  enough  not  to  be 
silent.  Louvois,  once  warned,  made  such  strong 
and  convincing  opposition  that  the  King  was 
aroused,  and  the  favourite  heard  no  more  of  the 
appointment.  In  his  anxiety  he  appealed  to  Mme. 
de  Montespan.  She  was  his  great  friend  and 
promised  her  aid ;  but  he  was  distrustful  and 
wished  to  "  have  his  mind  clear";  then  occurred 
a  scene  which  outraged  Saint-Simon  himself,  as 
he  related  it  long  after.  This  writer  avows  in  his 
Mtmoires  that  it  would  have  been  incredible  "  if 
the  truth  had  not  been  attested  by  all  the  Court." 

Like  most  great  workers,  Louis  XIV.  was  or- 
derly and  methodical  in  everything.  He  had  fixed 
hours  for  his  ministers  and  for  appearing  in  public, 
hours  for  his  wife  and  for  his  mistresses.  It  could 
always  be  known  where  he  was  and  what  he  was 
doing.  Mme.  de  Montespan's  hour  was  in  the 
afternoon.  With  the  complicity  of  a  chambermaid 
Lauzun  was  introduced  into  the  room,  concealed 
himself  under  the  bed,  and  by  keeping  his  ears  open 
soon  "  cleared  his  mind."  Mme.  de  Montespan  did 
not  forget  him  in  her  conversation,  but  he  heard 
himself  severely  criticised  and  his  bad  character 
exploited ;  the  slight  dependence  which  could  be 
placed  upon  him  and  his  arrogance  towards  Louvois 


246  Louis  XIV.  and 

were  also  emphasised.  All  these  charges  were 
made  with  so  much  wit  that  the  King,  carried  away, 
replied  with  almost  as  little  chanty. 

The  listener  under  the  bed,  through  rage  and 
constraint,  was  thrown  into  a  "  great  perspiration." 
Finally  the  King  returned  to  his  own  affairs  and 
Mme.  de  Montespan  to  hers,  which  were  to  attire 
themselves  for  a  ballet.  After  her  toilet,  Ma- 
dame found  Lauzon  at  her  door.  He  offered  his 
hand  and  demanded  if  he  dared  flatter  himself  that 
she  had  remembered  him  witti  the  King.  She  as- 
sured him  that  she  had  not  failed  to  do  so,  and 
expatiated  upon  "all  the  services  which  she  had 
just  rendered  him."  M.  de  Lauzun  permitted  her 
to  finish,  only  forcing  her  to  walk  slowly,  and  then 
softly  in  a  low  voice  repeated,  word  for  word,  all 
that  had  passed  between  the  King  and  herself, 
without  leaving  out  a  single  phrase  ;  and  always 
retaining  the  sweet  and  gentle  voice,  he  proceeded 
to  call  her  the  most  infamous  names,  assured  her 
that  he  would  "  spoil  her  face,"  and  led  her  most 
unwillingly  to  the  ballet,  more  dead  than  alive,  and 
almost  without  consciousness. 

The  King  and  Mme.  de  Montespan  both  believed 
that  it  was  only  the  devil  himself  who  could 
have  so  accurately  reported  what  had  been  said. 
Royalty  and  the  mistress  were  in  trouble,  and  in 
a  "  horrible  rage  "  ;  they  had  not  yet  recovered  their 
equanimity  when  the  favourite  recommenced  his 
intrigues. 

Three  days   after   this   apparently    inexplicable 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  247 

event,  he  came  to  break  his  sword  before  the 
King,  declaiming  that  he  would  no  longer  serve  a 
prince  who  forswore  his  word  for  a  —  (the  word 
cannot  be  repeated).  The  conduct  of  Louis 
XIV.  at  this  juncture  has  remained  famous.  He 
opened  the  window  and  threw  out  his  cane,  saying 
that  he  should  regret  having  struck  a  gentleman. 

The  next  day  Lauzun  found  himself  in  the  Bas- 
tile,  and  it  might  have  been  supposed  for  a  long  so- 
journ, under  a  monarch  who  never  as  a  child  had 
pardoned  a  lack  of  respect.  The  public  was  still 
more  astonished  to  learn,  at  the  end  of  the  second 
month,  that  it  was  the  King  who  sought  pardon, 
and  Lauzun  who  held  his  head  high,  refusing  re- 
compense and  asserting  that  the  prison  was  prefer- 
able to  the  Court. 

The  feelings  of  Louvois  and  others  can  be  im- 
agined during  the  strange  interchange  of  visits 
between  Saint-Germain  and  the  Bastile,  for  the 
purpose  of  obtaining  from  this  dangerous  person- 
age the  acceptance  of  the  much-desired  charge  of 
Captain  of  the  Body  Guard  ;  also  the  alarm  at  the 
prompt1  return  of  the  favourite,  more  of  a  spoiled 
child  than  before  the  punishment. 

Whence  came  this  credit  with  a  prince  so  little 
susceptible  to  influence,  who  had  always  pretended 
to  be  as  opposed  to  the  rule  of  favourites  as  of 
prime  ministers  ?  In  what  did  this  little  Lauzun 
show  special  merit  ?  and  what  attracted  women  who 
pursued  and  sought  his  favour  through  cajoleries 

1  Lauzun  became  Captain  of  the  Body  Guard  in  July,  1669. 


248  Louis  XIV.  and 

and  gifts  ?  Little  Poucet  he  still  was  ;  for  he  had 
not  increased  in  stature.  "  He  is,"  wrote  Bussy- 
Rabutin,  "  one  of  the  smallest  men  God  has  ever 
made."  *  He  had  not  become  more  beautiful.  We 
can  on  this  point  believe  the  testimony  of  Ma- 
demoiselle herself.  However  strong  her  passion, 
she  is  yet  able  to  paint  Lauzun  in  these  terms, 
writing  to  Mme.  de  Noailles :  "  He  is  a  small  man. 
No  one  can  say  that  his  figure  is  not  the  straightest, 
prettiest,  most  agreeable.  The  limbs  are  fine  ;  he 
has  good  presence  in  all  that  he  does  ;  but  little 
hair,  blond  mixed  with  grey,  ill-combed,  and  often 
somewhat  greasy ;  fine  blue  eyes,  but  generally 
red;  a  shrewd  air;  a  pretty  countenance.  His 
smile  pleases.  The  end  of  his  nose  is  pointed 
and  red  ;  something  elevated  in  his  physiognomy  ; 
very  negligent  in  attire  ;  when,  however,  it  appeals 
to  him  to  be  careful,  he  looks  very  well.  Behold 
the  man  ! " 

This  is  not  an  alluring  picture.  There  was  but 
little  to  attract.  It  was  murmured  that  he  pos- 
sessed secret  methods  of  making  himself  beloved. 
"  As  for  his  temper  and  manners,"  continues  Ma- 
demoiselle, "  I  defy  any  one  to  understand  them, 
to  explain  or  to  imitate  them."  The  world  was  not 
entirely  of  this  opinion.  It  could  recognise  at  least 
that  M.  de  Lauzun  was  "  the  most  insolent  little  man 
born  in  the  century,"2  also  the  most  malicious. 
Many  cruel  traits  were  ascribed  to  him,  and  his 

1  Letter  to  Mme.  de  Sevigne,  dated  February  2,  1669. 
*  Mtmoires  et  Reflexions  of  the  Marquis  de  la  Fare. 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  249 

fashion  of  turning  on  his  heel  and  plunging  into 
the  crowd  before  his  victims  had  regained  their 
composure  was  well  known. 

The  world  was  also  well  assured  that  the  favour- 
ite was  an  intriguer.  Lauzun  was  always  oc- 
cupied with  some  machination,  even  against  those 
to  whom  he  was  indifferent ;  this  kept  his  hand  in. 
For  the  rest,  Mademoiselle  was  right ;  he  was  not 
understood.  He  was  very  intelligent.  His  clever 
phrases  were  repeated.  For  example,  his  response 
to  the  wife  of  a  minister  who  said  rather  foolishly, 
in  emphasising  the  trouble  her  husband  gave  him- 
self :  "  There  is  nothing  more  embarrassing  than  the 
position  of  the  one  who  holds  la  queue  de  la  po£le, 
is  there  ? "  "  Pardon,  Madame,  there  are  those 
who  are  within." 

But  Lauzun  also  loved  to  play  the  imbecile  and 
to  utter  with  the  tone  of  a  simpleton  phrases  with- 
out sense  ;  he  indulged  in  this  singular  taste  even 
before  the  King.  The  contrast  was  great  between 
his  pretensions  to  the  "  haughty  air"  and  the  desire 
to  be  imposing  and  the  habit  of  adorning  himself 
in  grotesque  costumes  in  order  to  see  whether  any 
one  dared  to  laugh  at  M.  de  Lauzun.  He  was 
once  found  at  home  arrayed  in  a  dressing  gown 
and  great  wig,  his  mantle  over  the  gown,  a  night- 
cap upon  his  wig,  and  a  plumed  hat  above  all. 
Thus  attired,  he  walked  up  and  down  scanning  his 
domestics,  and  woe  to  him  who  did  not  keep  his 
countenance. 

He  was  at  once  avaricious  and  lavish,  ungrateful 


250  Louis  XIV.  and 

and  the  reverse,  delighting  in  evil  but  at  the  same 
time  loyal  as  relative  or  friend  while  not  ceasing  to 
be  dangerous.  He  undertook  at  one  time  to  ad- 
vance in  the  world  his  nephew,  lately  come  from 
Perigord.  He  furnished  him  with  a  purse  and 
took  the  trouble  to  present  him  at  Court,  at  which 
their  apparition  was  an  event.  They  were  pointed 
out  to  every  one,  and  no  one,  not  even  the  King, 
composed  as  he  was  by  profession,  could  help 
laughing;  Lauzun  had  indulged  in  the  fantasy  of 
dressing  his  nephew  in  the  costume  of  his  grand- 
father. The  poor  lad  felt  so  ridiculous  that  he 
almost  died  from  shame,  and  fled  from  Paris  with- 
out daring  to  show  himself  again. 

In  this  freak,  his  uncle  had  not  acted  maliciously  : 
he  had  simply  disregarded  consequences.  There 
was  certainly  a  strain  of  madness  in  Lauzun.  If 
not  too  large,  a  tinge  of  this  kind  often  gives  to 
people  a  certain  fascination.  It  had  captivated 
Mademoiselle,  who  in  trying  to  define  her  attrac- 
tion for  Lauzun  was  forced  to  conclude,  "  Finally, 
he  pleased  me  ;  and  I  love  him  passionately." 

The  King  had  also  not  been  insensible  to  this 
indefinable  charm,  but  it  must  be  said  that  he  had 
been  slightly  dazzled  by  the  perfection  of  the  quali- 
ties of  a  courtier  which  were  shown  by  this  half- 
madman.  The  Court  of  France  possessed  no  more 
servile  being  bowing  down  before  the  master  than 
"the  most  insolent  little  man  seen  during  the  cent- 
ury." This  Gascon  played  comedies  of  devotion 
for  the  benefit  of  Louis  XIV.  and  flattered  him  in 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  251 

the  most  shameful  manner,  which  succeeded  only 
too  well. 

The  King  was  persuaded  that  M.  de  Lauzun 
loved  him  alone,  lived  but  for  him,  and  had  no 
thought  apart,  and  the  King  was  touched  by  this 
illusion.  He  found  such  absolute  devotion  de- 
lightful, and  was  ready  to  pardon  much  to  the  man 
who  gave  so  good  an  example  to  other  courtiers. 

But  even  in  giving  full  weight  to  the  originality 
and  the  unscrupulousness  of  this  man,  which  un- 
doubtedly added  to  his  force,  and  also  bearing  in 
mind  that  Louis  XIV.  did  not  entirely  escape  a 
certain  terror  which  his  favourite  inspired,  it  is  still 
difficult  to  account  for  a  success  so  disproportioned 
to  the  merit.  Lauzun  had  almost  reached  the 
heights  when  the  mad  strain  became  ascendant 
and  ruined  him.  Once  decided  upon  her  desires, 
Mademoiselle  became  completely  absorbed  in  find- 
ing the  best  means  of  satisfying  these.  The  first 
steps  appeared  to  be  the  most  difficult.  Consider- 
ing her  rank,  the  advances  must  be  made  by  her, 
and  it  fell  to  the  Grande  Mademoiselle  to  demand 
the  hand  of  M.  de  Lauzun.  Everything  had  been 
prepared  and  the  Princess  did  not  anticipate  a  re- 
fusal. But  it  was  not  sufficient  to  be  married  ;  she 
wished  to  live  her  romance,  to  be  loved,  and  to  be 
told  so,  and  this  delight  was  not  easy  to  attain. 
"  I  do  not  know,"  says  she,  "  if  he  perceived  what 
was  in  my  heart.  I  was  dying  of  desire  to  give 
him  an  opportunity  to  tell  me  what  his  feelings 
were  to  me.  I  knew  not  how  to  accomplish  this." 


252  Louis  XIV.  and 

Probably  in  all  the  Court  there  did  not  exist 
another  woman  so  naive  as  Mademoiselle  in  regard 
to  the  manipulation  of  a  lover !  After  having  seri- 
ously thought  over  the  matter,  she  decided  upon 
/"a  classic  expedient.  She  resolved  to. tell  Lauzun 
that  it  was  a  question  of  an  alliance,  and  that  she 
wished  to  ask  his  advice.  If  he  loved  her,  he 
would  certainly  betray  himself.  She  entered  upon 
the  attempt,  on  the  same  second  of  March  on 
which  she  had  awakened  so  gaily,  and  met  her 
lover  in  the  palace  of  the  Queen,  at  the  time  when 
that  lady  retired  to  her  oratoire  to  "pray  God." 

While  Marie-Therese  was  prolonging  her  de- 
votions a  certain  freedom  was  permitted  in  the 
anteroom. 

"  I  went  to  him  and  led  him  near  a  window. 
With  his  pride  and  his  haughty  air,  he  appeared  to 
me  the  Emperor  of  all  the  world.  I  commenced  : 
'You  have  testified  so  much  friendship  for  me 
during  so  long  a  time,  that  I  have  the  utmost  con- 
fidence in  you,  and  I  do  not  wish  to  act  without 
your  advice.' '  Lauzun  protested,  as  was  fitting,  his 
gratitude  and  his  devotion,  and  Mademoiselle  con- 
tinued :  "  It  is  plainly  to  be  seen  that  the  King 
wishes  to  marry  me  to  the  Prince  de  Lorraine  ;  have 
you  heard  this  mentioned?"  No,  he  had  "  heard 
nothing  of  it."  Mademoiselle  poured  out  some 
confused  explanations  as  to  her  reasons  for  wish- 
ing to  remain  in  France,  in  the  hope  of  finding  at 
length  true  happiness.  "  For  myself,"  concluded 
she,  "  I  cannot  love  what  I  do  not  esteem."  Lau- 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  253 

zun  approved  all  and  demanded  :  "  Do  you  think 
of  marrying?"  She  responded  naively,  "I  become 
enraged  when  I  hear  people  calculating  upon  my 
succession."  "  Ah,"  said  he,  "  nothing  would  give 
me  greater  delight  than  to  marry."  At  this  mo- 
ment, the  Queen  came  out  of  the  oratoire  and 
it  was  necessary  to  part.  Lauzun  had  betrayed 
nothing.  Nevertheless,  Mademoiselle  felt  very 
happy :  "  I  thought,  there  is  one  important  step 
taken,  and  he  can  no  longer  mistake  my  senti- 
ments ;  on  the  first  occasion,  I  will  learn  his.  I 
was  well  content  with  myself  and  with  what  I  had 
done." 

Lauzun  had  in  fact  really  comprehended  that  the 
Grande  Mademoiselle  was  throwing  herself  at  his 
head,  and  he  was  well  pleased  to  enter  into  the 
game  at  all  risks,  in  order  to  gain  what  he  could. 
Without  actually  reaching  the  marriage  ceremony, 
the  love  of  a  grand  princess  can  be  of  advantage  in 
many  ways.  He  took  pains,  therefore,  to  renew  the 
conversation,  and  employed  all  his  art,  all  his  wit, 
in  default  of  feeling,  in  keeping  the  flame  alight  in 
the  breast  of  the  old  maid  and  in  flattering  the 
weaknesses  which  united  with  the  movements  of 
her  heart  in  increasing  the  desire  for  marriage. 
Mademoiselle  could  not  support  the  vision  of  the 
heirs  always  on  the  watch  ;  Lauzun  accentuated  and 
sympathised  with  her  annoyance  at  overhearing 
such  phrases  as  "  This  one  will  have  that  territory, 
another  will  inherit  this  land."  "  I  find  your  vexa- 
tion very  reasonable,"  said  he,  "  for  one  should  live 


254  Louis  XIV.  and 

as  long  as  possible  and  not  love  those  who  desire 
our  death." 

Mademoiselle  could  not  resign  herself  to  growing 
old.  This  was  not  coquetry,  of  which  she  could  not 
be  accused ;  it  was  the  conviction  that  on  account 
of  her  high  birth  she  was  a  privileged  creature. 
She  said  very  seriously,  "  People  of  my  quality  are 
always  young,"  and  she  dressed  as  at  twenty,  and 
continued  to  dance. 

Lauzun  attacked  this  delicate  subject  and  did  not 
hesitate  to  speak  unpleasant  truths  before  offering 
the  soothing  balm  held  in  reserve.  It  was  his  habit 
to  treat  women  brutally  in  order  to  make  them  sub- 
missive, and  in  this  case  there  were  double  reasons 
for  doing  so.  "  His  maxim,"  relates  Saint-Simon, 
"  was  that  the  Bourbons  must  be  rudely  treated  and 
the  rod  must  be  held  high  over  their  heads,  without 
which  no  empire  could  be  preserved  over  them." 
This  system  had  succeeded  tolerably  well  with 
Louis  XIV.  Lauzun  could  well  believe,  in  these 
early  times,  that  it  would  also  be  successful  with  his 
cousin,  so  humbly  did  she  accept  his  harshness. 

He  said  to  her  :  "  I  find  that  you  are  right  to  take 
a  husband,  nothing  in  the  world  being  so  ridiculous, 
no  matter  what  may  be  the  rank,  as  to  see  a  woman 
of  forty  wrapped  up  in  the  pleasures  of  the  world, 
like  a  girl  of  fifteen,  who  thinks  of  nothing  else. 
At  this  age,  a  woman  should  be  a  nun  or  at  least  a 
dtvote,  or  she  should  remain  at  home  modestly 
dressed." 

He  admitted  that  Mademoiselle,  on  account  of  her 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  255 

high  rank,  might  constitute  an  exception,  and  that 
she  might  be  permitted  at  long  intervals  to  hear 
one  or  two  acts  of  the  opera ;  but  her  duty  as  old 
maid  was  "  to  attend  vespers,  and  to  listen  to  ser- 
mons, to  receive  the  benediction,  to  go  to  as- 
semblies for  the  poor,  and  to  the  hospitals."  Or 
else  to  marry;  this  was  the  alternative  which  pointed 
his  moral.  "  For  once  married,"  continued  he,  "  a 
woman  can  go  anywhere  at  any  age ;  she  dresses 
like  others,  to  please  her  husband,  and  goes  to 
amusements  because  he  wishes  his  wife  not  to 
appear  peculiar." 

Every  word  impressed  itself  on  the  mind  of  the 
loving  Princess.  When  Saint-Simon,  who  was  inti- 
mate with  Lauzun,  read  the  M&noires  of  Mademoi- 
selle, he  found  the  account  of  this  adventure  so 
true  and  lively  that  he  renounced  the  attempt  to 
relate  it  himself.  "  Whoever  knew  Lauzun  will  at 
once  recognise  him  in  all  that  Mademoiselle  relates, 
and  his  voice  can  almost  be  heard."  Through  a 
very  natural  contradiction,  the  Grande  Mademoi- 
selle, even  at  the  height  of  her  passion,  preserved 
"  some  regret  that  she  would  no  longer  be  queen 
in  foreign  lands."  Lauzun  tried  to  banish  this  re- 
gret. He  represented  to  her  that  the  trouble  of 
playing  at  royalty 

surpassed  the  pleasure.  If  you  had  been  really  Queen  or 
Empress  you  would  soon  have  been  bored.  .  .  .  You  can 
now  dwell  here  all  your  life.  ...  If  you  desire  to  marry 
you  can  raise  a  man  to  be  the  equal  in  grandeur  and  power  to 
sovereigns.  Above  all,  he  will  realise  that  you  have  taken 


256  Louis  XIV.  and 

pleasure  in  bringing  him  to  prominence;  he  will  be  deeply 
grateful.  It  would  not  be  needful  to  describe  the  man  who 
may  possess  so  much  honour;  for  in  pleasing  you  and  in  being 
your  choice,  he  must  of  necessity  be  an  estimable  being.  He 
will  lack  nothing;  but  where  is  he  ? 

This  language,  so  clear  in  its  import  to  the  reader, 
did  not  entirely  satisfy  Mademoiselle.  The  poor 
Princess  was  ever  expecting  an  avowal  or  caresses 
which  never  came.  Lauzun  acted  the  disinterested 
friend,  the  person  who  was  entirely  out  of  the  run- 
ning, and  he  detailed  all  the  reasons  which  made 
an  unequal  marriage  distasteful  to  him.  Far  from 
seeking  her,  he  held  himself  at  a  respectful  distance 
when  he  met  her.  "  It  was  I,"  says  she,  "  who 
sought  him."  His  reserve  and  his  reticence  added 
fuel  to  the  flames,  and  this  diverted  him,  but  for  the 
moment  he  did  not  dare  to  promise  himself  any- 
thing more  than  greater  credit  at  Court. 

In  the  meantime,  the  Duchesse  de  Longueville1 
wished  to  establish  the  Count  de  Saint-Paul,  the 
one  of  her  sons  who  resembled  "  infinitely "  La 
Rochefoucauld.  In  spite  of  the  great  difference  in 
age — her  son  was  only  twenty — she  thought  of 
Mademoiselle,  who  remained  by  far  the  best  match 
in  the  kingdom,  and  commenced  overtures.  These 
were  eluded,  but  with  a  gentleness  which  astonished 
the  social  world.  Mademoiselle  had  her  reasons  : 
"  For  myself,  who  had  my  own  desires  buried  in 
my  heart,  it  did  not  at  all  vex  me  that  the  report 

1  The  sister  of  the  Grand  Conde.    Upon  her  part  in  the  Fronde,  see  The 
Youth  of  La  Grande  Mademoiselle. 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  257 

should  be  spread  that  there  was  question  of 
marrying  me  to  M.  de  Longueville. 1  It  occurred  to 
me  that  this  might  in  some  measure  accustom 
people  to  my  future  action." 

For  once,  the  diplomacy  of  Mademoiselle  did 
prove  a  failure,  and  her  calculations  were  found  to 
be  justified.  Some  days  later,  when  the  affair  was 
being  discussed  before  Lauzun,  one  of  his  friends, 
who  had  perceived  that  the  Princess  was  listening 
with  pleasure,  asked  him  why  he  did  not  try  his 
fortune.2  Others  joined  in  the  suggestion  and 
all  assured  him  that  nothing  was  impossible  for  a 
man  so  advanced  in  the  good  graces  of  the  King. 
Lauzun  expressed  himself  shocked  at  the  idea  of  an 
alliance  with  Mademoiselle  ;  but  on  returning  to  his 
lodging,  he  ruminated  the  entire  night  upon  this 
conversation,  and  from  that  time  the  thought  did 
not  appear  to  him  so  chimerical.  It  was  necessary, 
however,  to  delay  the  assurance ;  the  King  led  the 
Court  into  Flanders  and  gave  the  command  of  the 
escort  to  his  favourite. 

This  was  a  political  journey.  Spain  had  been 
vanquished  almost  without  resistance  in  the  war  of 
Devolution3  (1667-1668).  Louis  XIV.  deemed  it 

1  M.  de   Saint-Paul   began  toward  this  time  to  bear  the  name  of  de 
Longueville. 

2  This  conversation,  which  gives  the  key  to  the  conduct  of  Lauzun,  is  re- 
ported in  Le  Perroquet  or  Les  amours  de  Mademoiselle \  an  anonymous  recital 
printed  by  M.  Li  vet  following  the  Histoire  amour  euse  des  Gaules  (Paris, 
Jannet,  1857);  and  in  the  Histoire  de  Mademoiselle  et  du  Comle  de  Losun 
(Bibl.  Saint-Genevieve  MS.  3208),  not  always  sources  to  be  relied  on,  but  to 
be  trusted  here. 

2  War  between  relatives  for  the  succession. 
17 


258  Louis  XIV.  and 

useful  to  display  French  royalty  in  all  its  pomp  to  the 
populations  lately  united  with  his  kingdom,  by  the 
treaty  of  Aix-la-Chapelle  (May  2,  1668),  and  all 
prepared  to  make  a  fine  figure  in  a  spectacle  whose 
strangeness  finds  nothing  analogous  in  modern 
life.  ' 

In  1658,  Loret  the  journalist  had  valued  at  about 
twelve  hundred  souls  (the  servitors  were  not  in- 
cluded) the  convoy  formed  by  the  Court  at  its  de- 
parture for  Lyons.  This  figure  was  certainly 
surpassed  in  1670,  when  the  royal  family  alone, 
more  than  complete,  since  it  included  Mme.  de 
Montespan  and  Mile,  de  La  Valliere,  took  in  their 
train  a  suite  of  several  thousand  persons,  not  count- 
ing the  army  of  escorts. 

This  suite  was  composed  of  ladies  and  maids  of 
honour,  gentlemen,  pages,  domestics  of  all  orders 
and  of  both  sexes,  footmen  and  valets  of  valets. 
The  King  even  brought  his  nurse  with  him.  On 
the  other  hand,  the  nobility  were  better  disciplined 
than  in  the  times  of  Mazarin  and  Anne  of  Austria, 
and  no  one  had  dared  to  remain  behind.  The  de- 
parture was  from  Saint-Germain,  April  28.  Pellison 
wrote  the  next  day  to  his  friend  Mile,  de  Scudery  : 
"  It  is  impossible  to  tell  you  how  numerous  the 
Court  is ;  it  is  much  larger  than  at  Saint-Germain 
or  Paris.  Every  one  has  followed." 1 

The  quantity  of  luggage  gave  to  this  crowd  the 
appearance  of  a  wandering  nomadic  tribe.  All  the 
personages  of  high  rank  took  with  them  complete 

1  Lettres  historiques.    Pellison  accompanied  the  Court  as  historiographer. 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  259 

sets  of  furniture.  Louis  XIV.  had  on  this  journey 
"  a  chamber  of  crimson  damask,"  for  ordinary  use, 
and  another  "  very  magnificent "  where  greater  ac- 
commodation would  be  had.  The  bed  of  the  last  was 
"  of  green  velvet  embroidered  with  gold,  immensely 
large,  which  could  of  itself  fill  several  small  rooms." 
There  were  also  entire  suites  of  needful  furniture 
when  the  King  lodged  at  his  ease,  and  the  same 
for  the  Queen,  beautiful  Gobelin  tapestries  and  a 
quantity  of  silver  plaques, l  chandeliers  of  silver, 
and  other  pieces. 

The  commissary  department  carried  a  monster 
cooking  apparatus  and  necessary  utensils  to  supply, 
morning  and  evening,  several  large  tables  with  food 
served  on  plated  dishes.  When  all  was  unpacked, 
their  Majesties  were  "  almost  as  at  the  Tuileries." 

Monsieur  could  not  do  without  pretty  things 
nor  infinite  variation  of  toilet ;  he  was  much  en- 
cumbered on  a  journey.  Mademoiselle,  demanding 
little,  had  nevertheless  her  rank  to  maintain,  and 
her  "  campaign  chamber  "  was  imposing.  On  one 
journey,  she  was  obliged  to  lodge  ten  days  in  a 
peasant's  hut  where  the  ceilings  were  so  low  that  it 
was  necessary  to  increase  the  height  of  the  room 
by  digging  out  the  ground  which  formed  the  floor, 
in  order  to  erect  the  canopy  of  her  bed.  Those  of 
the  courtiers  obliged,  from  their  rank  as  chiefs  of 
Commandments,  to  keep  open  table  led  with  them 
a  staff  of  domestics  and  enough  material  for  an 

1  Plaques:  pieces  of  embossed  silver,  at  the  lower  part  of  which  was  placed 
a  chandelier. 


260  Louis  XIV.  and 

itinerant  inn.  Others  wished  to  make  themselves 
conspicuous  by  the  fineness  of  their  equipage. 
That  of  Lauzun  had  been  much  admired  at  his  de- 
parture from  Paris.  "  He  passed  through  the  St. 
Honore,"  wrote  Mademoiselle,  who  had  come  across 
him  by  chance  ;  "  he  was  very  splendid  and  magnifi- 
cent." The  most  modest  carried  at  least  a  camp- 
bed,  under  pain  of  sleeping  upon  mother  earth 
during  the  entire  trip. 

The  train  of  chariots,  carts,  and  horses,  or  mules 
with  pack-saddles,  which  rolled  along  the  route  to 
Flanders  in  1670,  can  be  pictured  ;  also  the  diffi- 
culty of  uniting  luggage  and  owner  when  the  rest- 
ing-places were  scattered  over  an  entire  village  or 
group  of  villages  ;  the  accidents  of  all  sorts  which 
happened  to  the  caravan,  on  roads  almost  always  in 
a  frightful  condition,  and  in  traversing  rivers  often 
without  bridges ;  the  indifference  of  some,  the  im- 
patience of  others,  and  the  universal  disorder  ;  the 
anguish  of  losing  one's  cooks  if  one  were  a  Marie- 
Ther&se,  the  desolation  of  not  finding  the  rouge 
and  powder  if  one  were  Monsieur  or  some  pretty 
woman  !  Surely  those  who  preserved  their  equa- 
nimity through  such  trials  and  under  excessive 
fatigue  deserve  praise. 

Louis  XIV.  was  a  good  traveller,  arranged  every- 
thing for  himself,  and  expected  others  to  do  as 
much.  He  detested  groans,  timid  women,  and 
those  to  whom  a  bed  was  important.  The  Queen 
Marie-Therese  began  to  grumble  before  actually 
stepping  into  her  coach,  and  the  fact  that  she  was 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  261 

in  a  placid  frame  of  mind  during  a  trip  was  spread 
far  and  wide  as  a  piece  of  good  news.  The  frugal 
suppers  and  the  nights  passed  in  a  waggon,  while 
awaiting  the  carriage  which  had  missed  the  way, 
appeared  to  her  frightful  calamities.  The  bad 
condition  of  the  roads  made  her  weep,  and  she  ut- 
tered loud  cries  in  traversing  fords.  She  was  once 
found  in  tears,  stopping  the  horses  in  the  open 
plain  and  refusing  to  go  on  or  to  turn  back.  An 
intelligent  interest  in  new  surroundings  did  not  give 
her  compensation  for  her  woes,  for  she  possessed 
no  curiosity.  The  conferences  with  which  the  King 
entertained  the  ladies  along  the  route,  upon  mili- 
tary tactics  and  fortifications,  mortally  bored  and 
wearied  the  poor  Queen,  and  she  did  not  know  how 
to  conceal  her  feelings. 

To  tell  the  truth,  among  all  the  women  who 
pressed  behind  the  King  upon  the  ramparts  of  the 
cities  or  on  the  fortifications  of  old  battle-fields, 
appearing  to  absorb  his  words  and  explanations, 
Mademoiselle  was  the  only  one  who  really  list- 
ened with  pleasure.  Since  the  exploits  during  the 
Fronde,  the  Princess  had  always  considered  her- 
self as  belonging  to  the  profession  of  arms. 

Monsieur  had  one  great  resource  in  travelling. 
When  he  joined  the  King,  he  brought  with  him 
some  choice  bits  of  gossip  which  entertained  the 
entire  coach.  In  the  evening,  when  the  beds  were 
being  anxiously  awaited,  he  started  games,  or  or- 
dered the  King's  violins  and  gave  a  dance.  If  no 
other  place  offered,  the  company  would  use  a  barn 


262  Louis  XIV.  and 

for  the  impromptu  ball.  Monsieur,  however,  was 
much  annoyed  at  any  mishaps  which  might  inter- 
fere with  his  toilet,  and  could  never  take  accidents 
of  this  kind  lightly. 

The  journey  of  1670  was  made  more  difficult 
by  torrents  of  rain,  and  the  one  who  was  gener- 
ally drenched  was  the  Commander-in-chief  of  the 
troops,  who  was  obliged  to  stand  with  uncovered 
head  to  receive  the  King's  orders.  Monsieur 
looked  with  a  sort  of  indignation  upon  the  piteous 
countenance  of  Lauzun,  his  hair  uncurled  and  drip- 
ping, and  once  said  :  "  Nothing  would  induce  me  to 
show  myself  in  such  a  condition.  He  does  not 
look  at  all  well  with  his  wet  hair ;  I  have  never 
seen  a  man  so  hideous."1 

Mademoiselle  was  more  indignant  than  Mon- 
sieur ;  chiefly  over  the  fact  that  any  one  could  con- 
sider M.  de  Lauzun  ugly  "  in  any  state,"  and  that 
the  King  should  gaily  expose  him  to  the  risk  of 
catching  cold.  "  M.  de  Lauzun  is  always  without 
a  hat  and  has  his  head  drenched.  I  said  to  the  King, 
*  Sire,  command  him  to  cover  his  head  ;  he  will  be 
ill.'  I  said  this  so  repeatedly  that  I  was  afraid  my 
solicitude  would  be  noticed." 

Mademoiselle  cared  but  little  on  her  own  account 
for  the  discomforts  of  the  journey.  No  woman 
made  fewer  grimaces  at  a  bad  supper,  or  for  being 
forced  to  make  a  bedchamber  of  her  carriage,  and 
sometimes  to  sleep  upon  a  chair.  She  did  not, 
however,  enjoy  the  reputation  of  being  a  good 

1  Mtmoires  of  Mademoiselle. 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  263 

traveller,  on  account  of  the  insurmountable  terror 
which  water  inspired.  During  a  ford,  she  cried  out 
as  loudly  as  the  Queen  ;  the  signs  of  the  King's  im- 
patience could  not  restrain  her ;  "  as  soon  as  I  see 
it,"  said  she,  of  the  water,  "  I  no  longer  know  what 
I  am  doing." 

The  rest  of  the  party  belonging  to  the  caravan  re- 
signed themselves  to  the  discomforts  of  camping 
through  "  the  grace  of  God."  It  was  realised  that 
any  expression  of  discontent  caused  the  danger  of 
incurring  the  royal  displeasure,  and  discomfort  was 
expected  as  a  neccessary  accompaniment  of  a  royal 
progress. 

In  1667,  the  Court  had  passed  one  night  at  the 
Chateau  of  Mailly  near  Amiens.  The  Abbe*  de 
Montigny,  Almoner  of  the  Queen,  wrote  the  next 
day  to  some  friends,  "  Mailly,  ladies,  is  a  caravan- 
sary. There  was  such  a  crowd  that  Mme.  de 
Montausier  slept  upon  a  heap  of  straw  in  a  cup- 
board, the  daughters  of  the  Queen  in  a  barn  on 
some  wheat,  and  your  humble  servant  on  a  pile  of 
charcoal."1  In  1670  the  account  of  the  night  of  the 
3d  of  May  filled  many  letters.  May  3d  had  been 
a  painful  day.  The  immense  convoy  had  de- 
parted from  Saint-Quentin  for  Landrecies  at  an 
early  hour,  during  a  beating  rain,  which  had  visibly 
increased  the  watercourses  and  swamps.  Hour  by 
hour  the  vehicles  sank  deeper  in  the  mud  and  the 
roads  were  encumbered  with  horses  and  mules, 

1  De  La    Valltire  a  Montespan,  by  Jean  Lemoine  and  Andre  Lichten- 
berger. 


264  Louis  XIV.  and 

dead  or  overcome,  with  carts  sunk  in  the  mire,  and 
with  overturned  baggage.  It  was  not  long  before 
the  chariots  met  the  same  fate.  The  Marechal  de 
Bellefonte  was  forced  to  abandon  his  in  a  slough, 
and  make  the  remainder  of  his  way  to  the  resting- 
place  on  foot,  in  the  company  of  Benserade  and  two 
others.  M.  de  Crussol1  met  the  water  above  the 
doors  of  the  carriage  in  traversing  the  Sambre,  and 
M,  de  Bouligneux,2  who  followed  him,  was  forced  to 
unharness  in  the  middle  of  the  stream  and  to  save 
^  himself  on  one  of  the  horses.  When  it  came  to  the 
Queen  and  Mademoiselle,  it  was  in  vain  to  promise 
to  conduct  them  to  another  ford  reported  as  "  very 
safe."  Their  cries  and  agitation  were  such  that  the 
attempt  was  abandoned.  They  sought  shelter  in 
the  single  habitation  on  the  bank.  It  was  a  poor 
hut  composed  of  two  connecting  rooms  with  only 
the  ground  for  floor;  on  entering,  Mademoiselle 
sank  up  to  the  knees  in  a  muddy  hole.  Landrecies 
was  upon  the  other  bank  of  the  Sambre.  The  night 
fell  and  all  were  dying  with  hunger,  for  there  had 
been  no  meal  since  Saint-Quentin.  The  King,  very 
discontented,  declared  that  no  further  attempt 
should  be  made  to  proceed  and  the  night  should  be 
passed  in  the  carriages.  Mademoiselle  remounted 
into  hers,  put  on  her  nightcap  and  undressed.  She 
could  not,  however,  close  her  eyes ;  "  for  there  was 
such  a  frightful  noise."  Some  one  said,  "  The  King 

1  Emmanuel  II.  de  Crussol,  Due  d'Uzes.      He  married  the  daughter  of 
the  Due  de  Montausier  and  of  Julie  d'Angennes. 

2  Probably  the  uncle  by  marriage  of  Bussy-Rabutin. 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  265 

and  Queen  are  going  to  sup."  Mademoiselle 
ordered  herself  borne  through  the  mud  into  the  hut, 
and  found  the  Queen  very  sulky.  Marie-Therese 
had  no  bed  and  was  lamenting,  saying  "  that  she 
would  be  ill  if  she  did  not  sleep,"  and  demanding 
what  was  the  pleasure  in  such  journeyings. 

Louis  XIV.  added  the  last  touch  to  her  vexation 
in  proposing  that  the  entire  royal  family  and  some 
intimates  should  sleep  in  the  largest  of  the  two 
rooms,  letting  the  other  serve  as  a  military  head- 
quarters for  Lauzun.  u  Look,"  said  the  King, 
"  they  are  bringing  mattresses  ;  Romecourt 1  has 
an  entirely  new  bed  upon  which  you.  can  sleep." 
"  What  !  "  cried  the  Queen,  "  sleep  all  together  in 
one  room  ?  that  will  be  horrible  ! "  "  But,"  rejoined 
the  King,  "  you  '11  be  completely  dresssed.  There 
can  be  no  harm.  I  find  none."  Mademoiselle, 
chosen  as  arbitrator,  found  no  impropriety,  and 
the  Queen  yielded. 

The  city  of  Landrecies  had  provided  their  sover- 
eigns with  a  "bouillon  very  thin,"  the  distasteful 
appearance  of  which  alarmed  Marie-Therese.  She 
refused  it  with  disgust.  When  it  was  well  under- 
stood that  she  would  not  touch  it,  the  King  and 
Mademoiselle,  aided  by  Monsieur  and  Madame,  de- 
voured it  in  an  instant ;  as  soon  as  it  was  all  gone, 
the  Queen  said,  "  I  wanted  some  soup  and  you 
have  eaten  it  all."  Every  one  began  to  laugh,  in 
spite  of  etiquette  ;  when  there  appeared  a  large 
dish  of  chicken  cutlets,  also  sent  from  Landrecies, 

1  Romecourt  was  Lieutenant  of  the  King's  Guards. 


266  Louis  XIV.  and 

which  was  eaten  with  avidity,  soothing  the  injured 
feelings  of  the  Queen.  "  The  dish  contained,"  re- 
lates Mademoiselle,  "meat  so  hard  that  it  took  all 
one's  strength  to  pull  a  chicken  apart." 

When  the  company  retired  for  the  night,  those 
not  yet  prepared  arrayed  themselves  in  nightcaps 
and  dressing-gowns,1  and  French  royalty  for  this 
memorable  night  must  be  represented  in  the  ap- 
parel of  Argan. 

In  the  corner  of  the  chimney,  upon  the  bed  of 
Romecourt,  lay  the  Queen,  turned  so  that  she  might 
see  all  that  was  passing.  "  You  have  only  to  keep 
open  your  curtain,"  suggested  the  King ;  "  you 
will  be  able  to  see  us  all." 

Near  to  the  Queen,  upon  a  mattress,  lay  Mme. 
de  Bethune,  the  lady  of  honour,  and  Mme.  de 
Thianges,  sister  of  Mme.  de  Montespan,  pressed 
together  for  lack  of  space.  Monsieur  and  Ma- 
dame, Louis  XIV.,  and  the  Grande  Mademoiselle, 
Mile,  de  La  Valliere,  and  Mme.  de  Montespan,  a 
duchess  and  a  maid  of  honour  were  crowded  on 
the  remaining  mattresses,  placed  at  right  angles 
and  proving  a  most  troublesome  obstruction  to  the 
officers  going  and  coming  on  official  business  to  the 
headquarters  in  the  other  room.  Happily,  the  King 
at  length  ordered  Lauzun  to  use  a  hole  in  the  outer 
wall  for  his  commands.  The  royal  dormitory  was 
at  last  left  in  peace,  and  the  occupants  could 
slumber. 

1  It  is  evident  that  these  last  were  carried  in  the  private  carriages,  ready 
for  any  accident. 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  267 

At  four  in  the  morning,  Louvois  gave  warn- 
ing that  a  bridge  had  been  built.  Mademoiselle 
awakened  the  King  and  all  got  up.  It  was  not 
a  beautiful  spectacle.  Locks  were  hanging  in 
disorder  and  countenances  were  wrinkled.  Ma- 
demoiselle believed  herself  less  disfigured  than  the 
others,  because  she  felt  very  red,  and  she  rejoiced, 
as  she  found  it  impossible  to  avoid  the  glance  of 
Lauzun.  The  royal  party  mounted  into  their  car- 
riages and  attended  mass  at  Landrecies,  after  which 
these  august  personages  went  to  bed  and  reposed  a 
portion  of  the  day. 

The  same  evening  Mademoiselle,  only  half 
aroused,  was  severely  scolded  by  Lauzun  for  her  ri- 
diculous dread  of  the  water.  This  was  very  sweet 
to  her ;  it  being  the  first  time  he  had  taken  such  a 
liberty,  and  the  most  passionate  women  in  the  early 
days  of  love  adore  the  masterful  tone.  The  two 
saw  each  other  less  often  than  at  Saint-Germain, 
but  with  more  freedom.  The  chances  of  travel  gave, 
from  time  to  time,  the  opportunity  for  long  tete-a- 
t£tes,  by  which  they  profited  ;  she,  to  become  more 
pressing,  he,  to  make  himself  more  keenly  desired. 

Lauzun  said  one  day  that  he  thought  of  retiring 
from  the  world.  "  I  am  having  a  vision  of  such 
beautiful  and  great  hopes  ;  and  if  they  are  only 
delusions  I  shall  die  of  grief." 

"  But,"  said  Mademoiselle,  "  do  you  never  think 
of  marrying  ?  " 

"  The  one  thing  of  importance  in  marriage,"  re- 
plied he,  "would  be  belief  in  the  virtue  of  the  lady, 


268  Louis  XIV.  and 

for  if  there  had  been  the  slightest  lapse  I  would 
have  none  of  her ;  even  if  it  were  a  question  of 
yourself,  far  above  others  as  you  are  !  " 

He  said  this  because  there  was  a  rumour  that 
the  King  had  the  plan  of  marrying  Mile,  de  La 
Valliere  to  his  favourite. 

Mademoiselle  cried  out  ingenuously  :  "  But  you 
would  wish  me  ;  for  I  am  good.  *  Do  not  talk  even 
delightful  nonsense,  when  we  are  speaking  seri- 
ously.' But  return  then  to  me." 

This  was  precisely  what  he  did  not  wish.  He 
recollected  all  at  once  that  the  Venetian  Ambassa- 
dor was  expecting  him. 

On  another  occasion,  Mademoiselle  said  to  him, 
in  confessing  the  fact  that  she  was  "  entirely  re- 
solved to  marry,"  and  that  her  choice  was  made  : 
"  I  intend  to  speak  to  the  King,  and  to  have  the 
wedding  in  Flanders ;  that  will  make  less  stir 
than  at  Paris." 

"  Ah,  I  beseech  you  not  to  do  this  ! "  cried  Lau- 
zun  alarmed,  for  he  did  not  consider  the  ground 
sufficiently  prepared,  "  I  do  not  wish  it ;  .  .  . 
I  am  absolutely  opposed  to  it."  Some  days  after, 
they  were  together  looking  through  a  window  and 
exchanging  impressions  upon  the  persons  of  quality 
who  were  passing,  "  their  forms,  their  bearing,  their 
appearance,  their  wit."  At  length,  Lauzun  re- 
marked, "Judging  by  what  I  hear,  none  of  these 
would  suit  you?"  "Assuredly  not,"  replied  Ma- 
demoiselle, "  I  wish  that  the  person  of  my  choice 
might  go  by,  that  I  could  point  him  out  to  you." 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  269 

As  every  one  had  now  passed,  she  continued  : 
"  He  must  be  sought,  there  is  still  some  one  else." 
After  this,  relates  her  Mtmoires,  "  he  smiled  and  we 
talked  of  something  else." 

They  had  arrived  at  the  point  of  smiles  and 
mutual  intelligence.  Nevertheless  the  Court  re- 
turned to  Saint-Germain  (June  7th)  without  Ma-  [(0 
demoiselle  having  obtained  the  decisive  word  for 
which  she  was  meekly  begging.  Lauzun  opposed 
some  barriers  to  every  advance.  Acting  through 
prudence  or  calculation,  he  was  to  have  cause  to 
congratulate  himself. 

Fifteen  days  elapsed  in  dttours  and  feigned 
flights.  Mademoiselle  was  exasperated.  Compre-~ 
hending  perfectly  well  that  a  Gascony  cadet  could 
not  say  bluntly,  "  Take  me  ! "  she  still  was  so  little 
capable  of  subterfuge  that  she  found  the  "  man- 
ners of  M.  de  Lauzun  towards  her  extraordinary." 
Lauzun  was  too  subtle  for  one  so  simple.  La 
Bruyere  himself  was  going  to  renounce  the  hope  of 
penetrating  into  his  motives,  and  to  avow  it  in  the 
passage  in  which  he  paints  him  under  the  name  of 
Straton  :  "  A  character  equivocal,  unintelligible ; 
an  enigma  ;  a  problem  never  solved." 

Persuaded  that  her  lover  held  back  through  re- 
spect, Mademoiselle  resolved  to  attack  affairs 
boldly.  On  June  2Oth,  she  went  to  enjoy  the 
diversions  of  the  fine  season  1  at  Versailles.  Mon- 
sieur and  Madame  were  at  their  chateau  at  Saint- 
Cloud.  Mademoiselle  followed  the  Court.  Lauzun 

1  Gazette  de  Renaudot. 


,1,1 


270  Louis  XIV.  and 

was  absent,  but  he  took  pains  from  time  to  time  to 
appear  in  the  Queen's  salon.  One  evening,  when 
he  had  met  Mademoiselle  and  when  he  was  chaffing 
her  on  the  subject  of  the  Due  de  Longueville,  the 
Princess  said  to  him  vivaciously :  "  Assuredly  I 
shall  marry  ;  but  it  will  not  be  with  that  person.  I 
pray  that  I  may  speak  with  you  to-morrow,  for 
I  am  resolved  to  address  the  King  and  I  desire 
that  all  should  be  finished  before  July  ist."  He 
replied  :  "  I  am  going  to-morrow  to  Paris,  and  Sun- 
day without  fail  I  shall  be  here,  and  we  will  then 
talk  over  everything ;  I  begin  also  to  desire  to  have 
all  ended." 

On  Sunday  (June  2Qth),  towards  evening,  Lauzun 
had  not  yet  arrived.  Mademoiselle  was  notified 
that  the  Queen  was  awaiting  her  for  the  daily  drive. 
She  went  out  quickly,  and  ran  across  the  Comte 
d'Ayen,1  who  had  also  an  appearance  of  being 
in  haste,  and  who  said  to  her  in  passing,  "  Madame 
is  dying  ;  I  am  seeking  M.  Vallot,2  whom  the  King 
has  commanded  me  to  lead  to  her  ! "  Below  in 
her  carriage  the  Queen  related  the  tale  of  the  glass 
of  chicory  water  and  the  fact  that  Madame  believed 
herself  to  be  poisoned.  All  were  astonished  and 
exclaimed,  "  Ah,  what  a  horror  !  "  People  looked 
at  each  other  and  did  not  know  what  to  do.  Marie- 
Therese  descended  from  her  carriage  and  was 
peacefully  entering  a  boat  on  the  grand  canal, 

1  Captain  of  the  Body  Guard.     Afterward,  Due  de  Noailles,  and  Marshal 
of  France. 

2  First  physician  to  the  King. 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  271 

when  a  gentleman  arrived  in  haste  ;  Madame  was 
in  extremity  and  besought  the  Queen  not  to  delay 
if  she  wished  to  see  her  alive.  The  chateau  was 
speedily  regained,  where  the  confusion  recom- 
menced. The  Queen  demanded  every  instant : 
"  What  shall  I  do  ?  What  shall  I  do  ?  "  She  could 
not  decide  to  go  herself,  and  she  prevented  Made- 
moiselle from  departing  without  her.  Finally,  the 
King  appeared.  He  took  the  Queen  in  his  coach 
with  Mademoiselle  and  the  Comtesse  de  Soissons. 
Mile,  de  La  Valliere  and  Mme.  de  Montespan  fol- 
lowed. It  was  eleven  o'clock  when  the  royal  family 
descended  at  the  gate  of  the  Chateau  Saint-Cloud. 

The  spectacle  which  awaited  it  has  been  de- 
scribed a  hundred  times.  A  poor  little  dishevelled 
figure,  pathetic  from  suffering,  and  already  drawn 
by  the  approach  of  the  dying  agony,  lay  upon  the 
bed.  The  unfastened  chemise  permitted  her  ema- 
ciation to  be  seen,  and  she  was  so  pale  that  if  it  had 
not  been  for  her  cries  it  might  have  been  thought 
that  the  end  had  already  come.  We  know  through 
Mme.  de  La  Fayette1  that  the  first  sentiments  of 
the  spectators  had  been  those  of  pity,  natural  in 
such  a  case,  and  here  doubled  by  the  sight  of 
the  frightful  sufferings  and  the  gentleness  of  this 
young  and  charming  being  in  the  presence  of 
death.  The  state  of  Madame  had  touched  even  her 
husband,  so  embittered  against  her  by  her  frivol- 
ities, and  only  the  sound  of  "  weeping  was  heard  in 
the  chamber." 

1  Histoire  de  Madame  Henriette  d'Angleterre. 


272  Louis  XIV.  and 

With  the  entrance  of  the  sovereigns  and  their 
suite  the  aspect  of  the  room  was  at  once  altered. 
Louis  was  indeed  sincerely  affected,  Mademoiselle 
much  moved,  and  many  of  the  others  felt  "  that 
they  were  losing  with  Madame  all  the  joy,  all  the 
agreeableness,  all  the  pleasures  of  the  Court." 1  But 
egotism  and  intrigue  marched  on  the  heels  of  their 
Majesties.  Even  while  weeping,  each  began  to 
dream  over  the  consequences  of  this  death.  Who 
would  inherit  the  prestige  of  Madame  ?  Whom 
would  Monsieur  marry  ?  Would  it  be  the  Grande 
Mademoiselle  ?  How  would  this  affect  the  inter- 
ests of  each  ?  The  dying  woman  felt  a  sudden  chill 
in  the  atmosphere.  "  She  perceived  with  pain  the 
tranquillity  of  every  one,"  reports  Mademoiselle, 
"  and  I  have  never  seen  any  sight  so  pitiable  as  her 
state  when  she  realised  the  real  attitude  of  those 
surrounding  her  bed.  The  crowd  kept  on  talking, 
moving  about  in  the  room,  almost  laughing." 

Monsieur  was  only  "  astonished "  at  what  was 
happening.  Mademoiselle  having  urged  him  to 
send  for  a  priest,  he  said,  "  Whom  shall  we  call  ? 
Whose  name  will  appear  well  in  the  Gazette?" 
This  preoccupation  truly  reveals  Monsieur. 

After  the  departure  of  the  King,  who  took  away 
others  in  his  train,  the  scene  again  changed.  Mon- 
sieur had  sent  for  Bossuet,  who,  in  a  letter  to  one 
of  his  brothers,  has  related  details  of  these  last 
hours.  To  judge  from  this  letter,  it  appears 
that  the  presence  of  the  priest  at  the  bedside  of 

1  Mme.  de  Sevigne  to  Bussy-Rabutin.     Letter  of  July  6,  1670. 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  273 

Madame  turned  all  minds  from  terrestrial  preoccu- 
pations and  banished  all  thoughts  except  those 
impressed  by  the  grandeur  of  death.  Madame 
herself  gave  the  example,  proving  with  her  last 
sigh  that  she  felt  she  was  accomplishing  "  the  most 
important  action  of  life."  1  "  I  found  her  fully  con- 
scious," said  Bossuet,  "speaking  and  acting  without 
ostentation,  without  effort,  without  violence ;  but 
so  well,  so  suitably,  with  so  much  courage  and 
piety,  that  I  was  completely  overcome."  Thus  God 
had  the  last  word  ! 

On  returning  to  Versailles,  the  Queen  quietly 
ate  her  supper.  Mademoiselle  perceived  Lauzun 
among  those  present.  "In  rising  from  table,  I 
said  to  him,  '  This  is  very  disconcerting.'  He  re- 
plied, '  Very,  and  I  am  afraid  that  it  may  spoil  our 
plans.'  I  responded,  '  Ah,  no.  No  matter  what 
may  happen.' ' 

The  poor  woman  could  not  sleep  during  the 
night :  how  rid  herself  of  Monsieur,  if  the  King 
should  wish  "  the  marriage  "  ?  At  six  in  the  morn- 
ing, word  came  from  Saint-Cloud  that  Madame  was 
dead.  "  At  this  news,"  continues  Mademoiselle, 
"  the  King  resolved  to  take  medicine/'  and  Ma- 
demoiselle, arriving  with  the  Queen,  found  him  in 
a  dressing-gown,  weeping  bitterly  over  the  loss  of 
Madame,  and  very  tenderly  pitying  his  own  woe. 
He  said  to  Mademoiselle  :  "  Come,  watch  me  take 
medicine ;  let  us  make  no  more  fuss  ;  better  act  as 

1  Mme.  de  Sevigne  to  Bussy-Rabutin  (letter  dated  January  15,    1687), 
speaking  of  Conde's  death. 


274  Louis  XIV.  and 

I  am  doing."  After  his  draught  he  retired,  and 
the  morning  was  passed  in  his  bedchamber  speaking 
of  the  dead. 

In  the  afternoon,  the  King  dressed  and  went  to 
consult  Mademoiselle,  as  the  great  authority  in 
matters  of  Court  etiquette,  upon  the  proper  ar- 
rangements for  the  funeral  ceremony.  After  these 
details  had  been  discussed,  the  King  spoke  the  word 
she  was  expecting  and  dreading  :  "  *  My  cousin,  here 
is  a  vacant  place,  will  you  fill  it  ? '  I  became  pale  as 
death,  and  said,  '  You  are  the  master,  your  wish  is 
mine/  He  urged  me  to  speak  frankly.  I  said, 
' 1  can  say  nothing  about  this.'  '  But  have  you 
any  aversion  to  the  idea  ? '  I  was  silent ;  he  went 
on,  *  I  will  further  the  affair  and  report  to  you.' ' 

In  the  salons,  the  crowd  of  courtiers  was  busily 
engaged  in  remarrying  Monsieur.  The  question 
was,  "To  whom?"  and  every  one  looked  at  the 
Grande  Mademoiselle.  Lauzun  bore  the  situation 
like  a  man  of  spirit,  without  troubling  himself  with 
useless  regrets  or  feigning  a  loving  despair  which 
was  very  foreign  to  his  nature.  H is  manner  was  free, 
very  gay,  too  easy  to  please  Mademoiselle  when 
he  congratulated  her  and  refused  to  listen  to  her  pro- 
testations that  "  it  would  never  be."  "  The  King 
said  that  he  wished  you  would  marry  Monsieur ;  it 
will  be  necessary  to  obey."  He  besought  her  not  to 
hesitate,  and  dilated  on  the  joys  of  grandeur,  and 
the  happiness  she  might  have  with  Monsieur.  She 
responded,  "  I  am  more  than  fifteen,  and  I  do  not 
propose  to  accept  a  life  fit  only  for  children." 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  275 

Of  all  the  honours  attached  to  the  rank  of  sister- 
in-law  to  the  King,  one  alone  appealed  to  her, — 
that  she  would  then  have  a  good  place  in  the  royal 
carriage,  instead  of  being  always  on  the  basket  seat,  I 
and  she  represented  to   Lauzun  that  the   "good  I 
place  would  not  long  remain  vacant."     It  would  be/ 
assigned  to  the  children  of  the  King  as  soon  as 
they  should  be  grown  up.     Once  he  added  :  "  The 
past  must  be  forgotten.     I  remember  nothing  of 
what  you  have  told  me  ;  I  have  lately  forgotten  all." 

Another  time,  he  showed  that  he  was  not  ignorant 
of  what  he  was  losing.  She  had  just  repeated, 
"  Ah,  this  shall  never  be  ! "  "  But  yes,"  rejoined 
Lauzun,  "  I  shall  be  glad  ;  for  I  prefer  your  grand- 
eur to  my  own  joy  and  fortune ;  I  owe  you  too 
much  to  feel  otherwise."  "  He  had  never  before 
admitted  as  much,"  remarks  Mademoiselle.  After 
such  delightful  conversations,  she  shut  herself  up 
to  weep.  The  idea  of  marrying  Monsieur  was 
odious  to  her,  for  other  reasons  besides  the  desires 
aroused  by  her  passion. 

Not  that  she  suspected  him  of  having  poisoned 
his  wife.  Mademoiselle  considered  her  cousin  in- 
capable of  such  a  crime.  But  she  could  not  bear 
the  thought  of  the  many  favourites  of  Monsieur 
and  of  their  power.  One  of  these,  M.  de  Beuvron,1 
had  confirmed  this  repugnance  by  coming  inso- 
lently and  inopportunely  to  assure  her  of  his  protec- 
tion and  of  that  of  the  Chevalier  de  Lorraine.  He 

1  Charles  d'Harcourt,  chevalier,  afterward  Comte  de  Beuvron,  was  one  of 
those  whom  rumour  accused  of  having  contributed  to  the  death  of  Madame. 


276  Louis  XIV.  and 

frankly  told  her :  "  It  will  be  more  to  our  advan- 
tage to  have  you  than  a  German  princess  without 
a  sou,  who  would  only  be  an  expense,  while  you 
have  so  much  that  the  allowance  of  Monsieur  can 
be  spent  for  his  liberalities ;  thus  we  shall  come  off 
better."  This  was  not  a  clever  address  to  a  prin- 
cess who  sincerely  loved  money.  The  following- 
displayed  even  less  tact :  4<  If  we  aid  in  making- 
your  marriage,  you  will  be  under  obligation  to  us, 
and  you  will  realise  our  power." 

Mademoiselle  heard  all  and  recounted  the  con- 
versation to  the  King.  "  He  has  spoken  like  a 
fool,"  said  Louis  with  his  shrewd  common-sense. 
Mademoiselle  could  not  resign  herself  to  this  alli- 
ance, and  Lauzun  trembled  lest  he  should  be  held 
responsible.  He  came  once  again,  to  find  the 
Princess  with  the  Queen,  and  said  to  her  : 

I  come  very  humbly  to  supplicate,  that  yoa  will  speak  no 
more  to  me.  I  am  most  unhappy  at  displeasing  Monsieur. 
He  might  believe  that  all  the  difficulties  you  are  making  come 
from  me.  Thus  I  shall  no  longer  enjoy  the  honour  of  address- 
ing you.  Do  not  summon  me,  for  I  shall  not  respond.  Do 
not  write  to  me,  nor  address  me  in  any  way.  I  am  in  despair 
to  be  forced  to  act  in  this  fashion ;  but  I  must  do  so  for  love 
of  you. 

She  equivocated,  tried  to  retain  him.  He  re- 
peated to  her  his  accustomed  refrain  that  he  must 
obey,  and  coldly  took  leave  while  she  cried  out : 
"  Do  not  go  away  !  What,  shall  I  speak  to  you  no 
more?"  From  that  day  Lauzun  carefully  avoided 
her.  One  day,  when  Mademoiselle  requested  him 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  277 

to  re-knot  her  muff  ribbon,  he  replied  "  that  he  was 
not  sufficiently  adroit,"  and  yielded  to  Mile,  de 
La  Valliere.  He  even  avoided  glancing  in  her 
direction. 

Louis  XIV.  had  found  his  brother  well  convinced 
of  the  advantage  of  marrying  many  millions  ;  Mon- 
sieur only  demanded  delay,  not  wishing,  with  the 
rumours  which  were  circulating,  to  appear  too  eager 
to  replace  the  dead.  Mademoiselle  also  on  her 
side  was  endeavouring  to  hinder  the  progress  of 
affairs.  Success  crowned  the  efforts  of  both,  and 
the  month  of  September  was  well  advanced  when 
the  King  said  to  his  cousin  in  the  presence  of  the 
Queen  :  "  My  brother  has  spoken  to  me  ;  he  wishes 
in  case  you  have  no  children  that  you  should  make 
his  daughter  your  heir,1  and  he  says  he  will  be  well 
content  not  to  have  any  more  offspring,  provided 
he  is  assured  that  my  daughter  shall  marry  his  son. 
I  counselled  him  to  desire  children,  because  this 
could  not  be  a  certainty." 

Monsieur  was  thirteen  years  younger  than  Ma- 
demoiselle, and  the  latter  very  well  understood  the 
significance  of  words.  She  began  to  laugh.  "  I 
have  never  heard  persons  on  the  brink  of  marriage 
say  that  they  did  not  wish  children,  and  I  hardly 
know  whether  this  is  a  courteous  proposition. 
What  does  your  Majesty  think?"  The  King 
also  laughed.  "  My  brother  has  said  so  many 

1  Monsieur  had  two  daughters  by  his  first  marriage  ;  Marie- Louise 
d'Orleans,  who  married,  in  1679,  Charles  II.  of  Spain,  and  Anne-Marie  de 
Valois,  married,  in  1684,  to  Victor- Amedee  II.,  Due  de  Savoie. 


278  Louis  XIV.  and 

ridiculous  things  on  this  subject  that  I .  have  ad- 
vised silence." 

The  joking  continued  in  spite  of  the  Queen,  who 
cried  out,  "  This  is  really  disagreeable  !  "  Finally, 
Mademoiselle  concluded  in  a  serious  tone  :  "  Al- 
though I  am  no  longer  young,  I  have  not  reached 
the  age  at  which  children  are  impossible.  .  .  . 
Such  suggestions  are  most  disagreeable  to  me."  The 
King  also  became  serious,  and  warned  his  cousin 
that  she  could  never  expect  from  him  the  gift  of 
any  government  or  any  appointment  which  would 
permit  the  exercise  of  power,  but  only  precious 
stones  and  furniture  and  other  playthings.  This 
again  was  a  lesson  from  the  Fronde,  and  in  his 
Mlmoires1  Louis  confirms  this  same  resolution. 
Mademoiselle  thanked  her  cousin  somewhat  ironi- 
cally for  what  he  had  done  to  render  Monsieur  de- 
sirable, and,  realising  by  the  questions  of  the  King 
that  some  hints  had  reached  his  ears,  she  pictured 
in  covered  words  the  future  of  which  she  had  had  a 
glimpse.  The  Queen  demanded  her  meaning,  but 
the  King  remained  silent.  "  I  do  hope,"  observed* 
Mademoiselle  in  ending,  "  that  I  may  be  permitted 
to  act  as  I  wish  and  that  the  King  will  not  force 
me  against  my  desires."  "  No,  surely,"  replied 
Louis,  "  I  will  leave  you  free  and  will  never 
constrain  any  one " ;  he  added  an  instant  after, 
11  Let  us  go  to  dinner,"  and  they  separated.  Some 
weeks  rolled  by.  The  favourites  of  Monsieur  were 

1  Cf.  Mtmoires  de  Louis  XIV.  "  for  the  year  1666."    Edited  by  Charles 
Dreyss. 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  279 

cold  about  an  alliance  which  the  temper  of  Made- 
moiselle might  make  somewhat  difficult,  and  which 
might  in  the  end  prove  not  to  their  advantage.1 

Events  moved  quietly  enough  when  the  Princess 
one  evening  in  October  supplicated  the  King  that 
there  should  be  no  more  said  of  the  project.  Louis 
XIV.  appeared  to  be  indifferent.  Monsieur  was  at 
first  vexed  and  then  dismissed  the  subject  from  his 
thoughts.  Marie-Therese  alone,  interested  neither 
in  her  brother-in-law  nor  in  her  cousin,  "was  in  de- 
spair," relates  Mademoiselle,  "  for  she  wishes  that 
we  should  marry  and  have  children."  But  no  one 
paid  much  attention  to  the  despair  of  Marie- 
Therese.  Lauzun  approved  the  course  of  Ma- 
demoiselle and  ceased  to  avoid  her.  That  was 
all.  For  an  ambitious  man,  he  was  not  a  really 
clever  schemer ;  he  had  too  great  a  fear  of  being 
duped.  He  again  assumed  a  sombre  attitude  and 
refused  to  hear  the  name  of  the  one  chosen  by 
Mademoiselle.  On  a  certain  Thursday  evening, 
when  she  had  menaced  him  with  the  threat  of 
breathing  against  the  mirror  and  of  writing  the 
name  of  the  man  she  loved,  midnight  sounded  dur- 
ing this  contest.  "  Nothing  more  can  be  said," 
observed  Mademoiselle,  "  for  it  is  already  Friday." 
The  next  day,  taking  a  sheet  of  paper,  she  wrote 
distinctly,  "  It  is  you,"  and  sealed  it.  "  That  day  I 
met  him  only  on  the  way  to  supper.  I  said  :  '  I 
have  the  name  in  my  pocket,  but  I  do  not  wish  to 
give  it  to  you  on  Friday.'  He  responded  :  *  Give  it 

1  Cf.  Segraisiana. 


280  Louis  XIV.  and 

to  me  !  I  promise  that  I  will  put  it  under  my 
pillow  and  that  I  will  not  open  the  paper  until  mid- 
night has  passed.' "  She  did  not  trust  him,  and  it 
did  not  occur  to  him  to  sacrifice  a  race  that  had 
been  arranged  for  the  Saturday.  "  Ah,  well,  I  will 
wait  until  Sunday,"  said  Mademoiselle  with  incon- 
ceivable patience,  and  her  only  vengeance  was  to 
let  herself  be  implored  a  little,  before  giving  up  the 
paper.  The  couple  were  alone  in  a  corner  of  the 
fireplace,  in  the  salon  of  the  Queen.  "  I  drew  forth 
the  leaf,  upon  which  only  a  single  word  was  written, 
which,  however,  told  much  ;  I  showed  it  to  him,  and 
then  replaced  it  in  my  pocket,  afterward  in  my  muff. 
He  urged  me  very  strongly  to  give  it  to  him,  saying 
that  his  heart  was  beating  rapidly.  .  .  .  Be- 
fore yielding  I  said,  *  You  will  reply  on  the  same 
leaf.' "...  In  the  evening  she  did  not  dare  to 
raise  her  eyes ;  he  declared  that  she  was  mocking 
him,  that  "he  was  not  sufficiently  foolish  to  be  de- 
ceived," and  this  was  the  theme  of  the  letter  which 
he  remitted  to  her.  At  the  same  time,  he  thought 
of  the  prodigious  elevation  which  he  was  beginning 
to  realise  was  a  possibility  before  him.  He  was  at 
last  aroused,  and  could  not  always  refrain  from  re- 
sponding seriously  to  Mademoiselle.  She  spoke  of 
the  happiness  which  awaited  them,  and  of  her  plans 
to  make  him  the  greatest  lord  in  the  kingdom.  He 
counselled  her  always  to  bow  before  fate,  but  one 
day  he  added  :  "  In  marrying,  the  temperament  of 
those  throwing  their  fates  together  should  be 
known.  I  will  disclose  mine."  He  said  that  he  pos- 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  281 

sessed  a  nature  bizarre  and  unsociable,  being  able  to 
live  only  in  the  wake  of  the  King;  "thus  I  shall 
be  a  peculiar  and  not  very  diverting  husband." 
Later,  he  amplified  a  little,  affirming  that  he  was 
cured  of  desire  for  women,  and  had  no  more  am- 
bition. "  When  a  post  was  proposed  to  me  I  re- 
fused it.  After  all,  do  you  really  want  me  ?  "-— "  Yes ; 
I  wish  you." — "  Do  you  find  nothing  in  my  person 
which  is  disgusting  ?  "  This  question  was  reasonable 
enough.  Lauzun  was  decidedly  "  unclean" * — but  it 
roused  the  indignation  of  Mademoiselle  :  "  When 
you  say  that  you  are  afraid  of  not  pleasing,  you  are 
simply  mocking  ;  you  have  pleased  too  easily  in  your 
life  ;  but  now  about  me,  do  you  find  anything  un- 
pleasant in  my  face  ?  I  believe  that  my  only  exterior 
fault  is  my  teeth,  which  are  not  fine.  That  is  a  de- 
fect of  my  race,  which  fact  bears  its  own  compensa- 
tions." "  Assuredly  "  replied  he,  and  she  could  not 
extract  the  expected  compliment. 

In  the  course  of  these  events,  the  Court  returned 
to  the  Louvre  and  the  Tuileries,  Mademoiselle  to 
the  Luxembourg.  After  much  hesitation  Lauzun 
consented  that  Mademoiselle  should  write  a  letter 
in  which  she  should  supplicate  the  King  to  forget 
all  that  he  had  said  against  mixed  marriages,  and 
permit  her  to  be  happy.  The  contemporaneous 
opinion  was  that  Lauzun  had  made  the  first  move. 
The  Spanish  Chargt  d*  Affaires  wrote  from  Paris, 
December  21 :"  It  is  certain,  as  every  one  says,  that 
he  has  arrived  at  this  point  with  the  authorisation  and 

1  Mtmoires  de  /'  Abbe  de  Choisy. 


282  Louis  XIV.  and 

permission  of  the  King." :  The  public  voice,  whose 
echo  has  been  preserved  for  us  by  the  novelists  of 
the  period,  added  that  Mme.  de  Montespan  had 
been  mixed  up  in  the  affair,  a  version  which  two  of 
her  letters  to  Lauzun  confirm,2  and  that  she  had 
obtained  the  consent  of  the  King  by  saying  :  "  Ah, 
Sire,  let  him  alone.  He  has  merit  enough  for 
this."3 

There  was  evidently  some  secret  bond  between 
the  mistress  and  Lauzun  which  united  them  when 
any  mischief  was  at  hand.  The  King  had  responded 
to  Mademoiselle  without  actually  saying  yes,  or  no  ; 
he  confessed  that  her  letter  had  astonished  him  and 
asked  her  to  reflect  again.  He  repeated  the  advice 
three  days  later,  during  a  t£te-a-t£te  which  took 
place  behind  closed  doors  at  two  o'clock  in  the 
morning.  "  I  neither  counsel  you  nor  forbid  you  ; 
but  I  pray  you  to  consider  well."  He  added  that 
the  affair  was  being  discussed  and  that  many  people 
disliked  M.  de  Lauzun.  "  Think  over  this  fact  and 
take  your  own  measures." 

The  couple  profited  by  the  warning.  On  Mon- 
day, December  15,  1670,  in  the  afternoon,  the  Dues 
de  Montausier  and  de  Cregny,  the  Marechal  d'Al- 
bret  and  the  Marquis  de  Guitry  presented  them- 
selves before  Louis  XIV.,  and  demanded  the  hand 
of  the  Grande  Mademoiselle  for  M.  de  Lauzun,  "  as 

1  Don  Miguel  de  Iturrieta  to  Don  Diego  de  la  Torre.    Archives  de  la  Bas- 
tille. 

2  Mme.  de  Montespan  et  Louis  XIV.,  by  P.  Clement. 

*Histoire  etc.  (Bibl.  Sainte-Genevieve,  MS.  3208).     The  same  version  is 
found  with  slight  variations  in  Le  Perroquet,  etc. 


MADAME  DE  SEVIQNE 

From  the  painting  by  Pietro  Mignard  in  the  Uffizi  Gallery,  Florence 
(Photograph  by  Alinari) 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  283 

deputies  from  the  French  nobility,  who  would  con- 
sider it  a  great  honour  and  grace  if  the  King  would 
permit  a  simple  gentleman  to  marry  a  Princess  of 
the  blood."  1  This  proceeding  was  a  plan  of  Lau- 
zun's.  It  succeeded  with  the  King,  and  after  he  had 
been  thanked  in  the  name  of  the  entire  nobility  of 
the  kingdom,  Mademoiselle,  who  was  apparently 
listening  to  the  reading  of  a  sermon,  behind  the 
chair  of  the  Queen,  was  notified  that  M.  de  Mon- 
tausier  was  asking  for  her.  The  Duke  reported  the 
good  reception  which  they  had  received  and  ended 
in  these  terms  :  "  Your  affair  is  accomplished,  but  I 
counsel  you  not  to  let  things  lag ;  if  you  follow  my 
advice,  you  will  marry  this  very  night." 

11 1  was  convinced  that  he  was  right "  adds  Ma- 
demoiselle, "  and  I  prayed  him  to  give  the  same 
advice  to  M.  de  Lauzun  if  he  should  see  him 
before  I  did." 

There  is  no  clearer  fact  in  history  than  the  evi- 
dence of  the  consternation  into  which  France  was 
thrown  by  the  news  that  the  Duchesse  de  Mont- 
pensier,  granddaughter  of  Henri  IV.,  was  to  marry 
the  Comte  de  Lauzun,  "a  simple  (qualified)  gentle- 
man." To-day,  an  alliance  of  this  kind,  provided  it 
does  not  concern  the  heir  to  the  throne,  is  only  a 
piece  of  society  gossip,  even  in  lands  still  pro- 
foundly loyal  to  monarchical  sentiments.  In  the 
seventeenth  century  such  an  event  touched  so 
nearly  the  social  hierarchy  upon  which  all  rested 
that  Mademoiselle,  in  thus  confusing  social  ranks, 

1  Memoir es  de  la  Fare. 


284  Louis  XIV.  and 

appeared  to  have  failed  seriously  in  her  duty  as 
Princess. 

Louis,  as  King,  had  not  considered  it  his  duty 
to  oppose.  The  criticism  was  more  severe  inas- 
much as  custom,  encouraged  by  illustrious  exam- 
ples, offered  to  lovers  separated  by  birth  easy 
means  for  completing  their  private  happiness,  sus- 
taining at  the  same  time  public  decorum.  "  Mar- 
riages of  conscience  "  had  been  invented  for  such 
cases ;  why  not  be  content  with  this  means  of  doing 
your  duty  and  of  satisfying  at  the  same  time  con- 
science and  passion  ?  Paris  sought  a  reply  to  this 
question,  and  the  whole  city  was  whispering  and 
busying  itself  in  a  manner  not  easily  to  be  forgotten. 

Ten  years  later,  when  the  trials  of  the  "Cor- 
rupters  "  disturbed  the  community,  some  one  wrote 
to  Mme.  de  Sevigne  that  "  the  last  two  days  have 
been  as  agitated  as  during  the  time  when  the  news 
of  the  projected  marriage  between  the  Grande 
Mademoiselle  and  M.  de  Lauzun  was  announced. 
All  were  seeking  news  and,  eager  with  curiosity, 
were  running  from  one  house  to  another  to  gather 
details."  1 

The  princes  and  princesses  of  the  blood  consid- 
ered themselves  insulted,  and  rebelled,  a  boldness 
so  unexpected,  on  account  of  their  habitual  sub- 
mission, that  even  Louis  XIV.  was  somewhat 
moved.  The  timid  Marie-Therese  gave  the  ex- 
ample. Mademoiselle  came  to  announce  formally 
the  proposed  marriage.  "  I  entirely  disapprove," 

1  Letter  dated  January  26,  1680. 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  285 

said  the  Queen  in  a  very  sharp  tone,  "  and  the 
King  will  never  sanction  it."  "  He  does  approve 
it,  Madame,  that  is  settled."  "  You  would  do 
better  never  to  marry,  to  keep  your  wealth  for  my 
son  Anjou."  1  Anger  gave  the  Queen  courage  to 
address  the  King,  who  was  vexed,  and  the  result 
was  a  scene,  tears,  a  night  of  despair ;  but  also 
nothing  gained,  and  finally  the  Queen  was  forced 
into  a  public  declaration  that  she  would  sign  the 
contract. 

Monsieur  loudly  protested.  He  heaped  abuses 
on  the  "  deputies  of  French  nobility,"  reproached 
Mademoiselle  in  the  presence  of  the  King  for  being 
"  without  heart,"  and  said  that  she  was  a  person 
who  should  be  "  placed  in  an  insane  asylum,"  2  and 
also  declared  that  he  would  not  sign  the  contract. 
The  gravest  accusation  made  by  Monsieur  was  a 
statement,  repeated  to  all,  that  Mademoiselle  had 
said  that  the  King  had  himself  counselled  the  mar- 
riage. In  vain  Mademoiselle  asserted  that  she 
had  said  nothing  of  the  kind ;  the  charge  made  a 
great  impression  upon  Louis,  and  he  expressed  his 
first  regret  over  the  affair.  \  The  Prince  de  Conde, 
sometimes  taunted  with  having  become,  somewhat 
late  in  life,  an  accomplished  courtier,  remonstrated 
respectfully  but  firmly  with  the  King. 

The  old  Madame,  forgotten  in  her  corner  of  the 
Luxembourg,  never  really  felt  the  wave  of  disgust 

1  Second  son  of  Louis  XIV.      He  died  young. 

2  Cf.  for  this  chapter,  the  Mdlanges  of  Philibert  Delamare  (Bibl.  Nation- 
ale,  French  MS.  23,251),   the  Journal  of  d'Ormesson,  and  generally  the 
memoirs,  correspondences,  pamphlets,  and  songs  of  the  period. 


286  Louis  XIV.  and 

and  protest,  but  she  was  sufficiently  aroused  from 
her  apathy  to  sign  a  letter  to  the  King,  written  in 
her  name  by  M.  Le  Pelletier,  President  of  the  De- 
partment of  Inquests.  Outside  the  Court  circle, 
Louis  XIV.  felt  himself  blamed  by  all  classes  of 
society.  The  nobles  in  general  refused  to  ratify 
the  "  Mandate  "  that  the  deputies  had  given  in  their 
name.  Without  doubt,  the  honour  of  this  marriage 
would  be  great :  the  permission  given  to  a  princess 
of  the  blood  to  marry  so  far  beneath  her  rank,  a 
most  unexpected  favour  from  a  monarch  who  had 
worked  so  systematically  to  undermine  the  power 
~~  of  the  aristocracy ;  but  the  larger  portion  of  the 
French  nobility  was  so  much  impressed  with  the  dan- 
ger of  insulting  royalty,  and  weakening  the  senti- 
ment of  the  sanctity  of  the  Heaven-sent  rulers,  that 
it  joined  in  the  criticism  of  the  rest  of  the  nation. 

The  Parliamentary  world  and  the  society  of  the 
higher  middle  class  were  equally  outraged.  It  was 
plain  that  the  marriage  could  be  made  only  with 
the  King's  consent,  and  the  giving  of  this  was  con- 
sidered a  "shame."  The  bourgeoisie  showed  an 
inconceivable  irritation  ;  Segrais  heard  Guilloire, 
Intendant  of  Mademoiselle,  say  to  his  mistress  in 
an  excited  tone,  knowing  very  well  that  he  was 
risking  his  position,  "  You  are  derided  and  hated 
by  all  Europe."  As  to  the  common  people,  their 
attitude  was  touching.  "  They  were,"  reports  a 
witness,1  "  in  a  state  of  consternation."  They 
grieved  as  if  their  Prince  had  deceived  them. 

1  Philibert  Delamare,  loc.  cit. 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  287 

The  enemies  of  Lauzun  increased  the  discontent 
and  endeavoured  to  gain  time.  Louvois  was  cred- 
ited with  having  persuaded  the  Archbishop  of  Paris 
to  forbid  the  bans.  The  minister  felt  himself  di- 
rectly menaced,  and  this  was  also  the  opinion  of 
the  political  world,  in  which  many  believed  that  the 
projected  marriage  was  a  stroke  directed  "  against 
M.  de  Louvois,  an  avowed  enemy  of  M.  de  Lauzun," 1 
by  Colbert  and  Mme.  de  Montespan. 

While  the  tempest  was  gathering,  the  friends  of 
the  two  lovers  pressed  them  to  hasten  the  end. 
"  In  the  name  of  God,"  said  Rochefort,  Captain  of 
the  Guards,  "  Marry  to-day  rather  than  to-mor- 
row!" Montausier  " scolded"  them  for  dallying. 
Mme.  de  Sevigne  represented  to  Mademoiselle  that 
they  "were  tempting  God  and  the  King."2 

Nothing  can  be  done  for  people  who  are  walk- 
ing in  the  clouds.  Lauzun,  "intoxicated  with 
vanity,"3  believed  himself  already  safe  in  port,  shel- 
tered from  all  trouble,  with  the  King  and  Mme.  de 
Montespan  on  his  side.  Mademoiselle,  "dazzled 
by  love,"  permitted  herself  to  be  guided.  Her  first 
desire  had  been  to  marry  upon  the  evening  of  the 
deputation  to  the  King,  without  saying  anything 
about  it,  but  Lauzun  refused.  "He  was  persuaded 
that  Mme.  de  Montespan  would  not  fail  him,  and 
that  nothing  could  now  turn  the  King  against 
him,  and  considered  everything  secure,  saying,  "  I 

1  Journal  of  Olivier  d'Ormesson. 

8  Letter  to  Coulanges,  December  3ist.     The  letter  announcing  the  mar- 
riage, too  well  known  to  quote,  is  dated  the  I5th. 
8  Memoires  de  la  Fare. 


288  Louis  XIV.  and 

distrust  only  you."  To  marry  thus  clandestinely 
would  not  satisfy  his  vanity.  He  wished  that  the 
deed  should  be  done  as  "from  crown  to  crown, 
openly  and  with  all  forms  observed."  He  desired 
the  chapel  of  the  Tuileries,  pomp,  a  crowd,  rows  of 
astonished  and  envious  faces,  "  rich  livery  "  that  he 
had  hastened  to  order  for  the  occasion.  In  short, 
le  longed  for  the  moon  and  he  did  not  succeed  in 
seizing  it. 

Tuesday,  December  i6th,  was  passed  in  talking, 
in  expressing  astonishment,  in  paying  compliments. 
A  multitude  came  to  the  Luxembourg,  among  whom 
the  Archbishop  of  Reims,  brother  of  Louvois,  who 
said  to  Mademoiselle  :  "  Would  you  do  me  the  in- 
jury of  choosing  any  other  than  myself  to  perform 
the  marriage  ceremony?"  Another  had  already 
solicited  the  honour,  a  proof  that  so  far  a  rupture 
had  not  been  thought  of.  Mademoiselle  replied  : 
"  M.  the  Archbishop  of  Paris  has  said  that  he 
desired  the  office." 

Wednesday,  there  was  a  fresh  crowd,  Louvois  in 
person  and  all  the  ministers ;  but  there  was  no 
longer  the  same  cordiality,  and  Mademoiselle  her- 
self perceived  the  difference.  "  They  made  low 
bows,  they  conversed,  but  no  longer  about  the 
affair."  The  evening  of  the  same  day,  the  Princess 
gave  to  Lauzun  ("  awaiting  something  better,"  said 
Mme.  de  Sevigne),  the  Comte  of  Eu,  which  repre- 
sented the  first  peerage  of  France,  assuring  the  first 
rank,  the  Principality  of  Dombes  and  the  Duchy 
of  Montpensier,  of  which  last  Lauzun  assumed 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  289 

the  title  and  name.  It  was  agreed  that  the  cere- 
mony should  take  place  the  next  day  at  noon. 
On  Thursday,  the  i8th,  the  contract  was  not  yet 
prepared ;  the  lawyers  had  delayed  on  purpose. 
Towards  evening,  Lauzun,  who  was  losing  his 
assurance,  offered  to  break  with  Mademoiselle. 

She  was  offended  and  tried  once  more  to  make 
him  declare  his  love,  but  he  responded,  "  I  will 
say  I  love  you  only  when  we  issue  from  church." 
There  was  no  longer  question  of  the  Tuileries 
chapel,  nor  even  of  dazzling  the  Parisians,  and 
Friday  found  a  new  delay,  Mademoiselle  having 
herself  wavered. 

After  consideration,  a  rendezvous  was  arranged 
at  Charenton,  in  the  house  of  a  friend,  where  the 
wedding  was  to  be  secretly  solemnised  the  next 
evening  at  midnight,  without  even  an  archbishop. 
The  Parisian  offer  began  to  inspire  distrust  :  "  The 
cure  of  the  place  would  do  well  enough." 

When  all  was  settled,  Mademoiselle  amused  her- 
self with  showing  to  her  intimates  the  chamber  that 
she  had  arranged  for  the  future  Due  de  Montpen- 
sier.  "It  was  magnificently  furnished,"  relates  the 
Abbe  de  Choisy.  "  *  Do  not  you  think,'  said 
Mademoiselle  to  us,  '  that  a  Gascony  cadet  will  be 
sufficiently  well  lodged?'1  Lauzun  took  leave 
early  to  pass  the  night  in  a  "  bath  house,"  as  was 
the  custom  before  a  wedding.  Mademoiselle  op- 
posed this,  because  he  was  suffering  from  a  bad 
cold.  He  had  also  "  trouble  with  his  eyes."  I  said 
to  him,  "  Your  eyes  are  very  red."  He  replied,  "  Do 


290  Louis  XIV.  and 

they  make  you  ill  ?  "  I  said,  "  No  ;  for  they  are  in 
no  way  disgusting."  It  may  be  noticed  that  these 
illustrious  lovers  did  not  possess  the  light  graces  of 
conversation  ;  their  phrases  were  singularly  heavy. 
"  These  ladies  are  mocking  us,"  pursued  the  Prin- 
cess. "  I  do  not  know,  however,  what  caused 
me  to  have  a  presentiment.  I  began  to  weep  in 
seeing  him  depart ;  he,  too,  was  sad  ;  we  were 
ridiculed.  The  ladies  also  departed,  only  Mme.  de 
Nogent  remaining." 

This  last  was  the  sister  of  Lauzun,  and  Mademoi- 
selle had,  during  the  past  months,  been  very  inti- 
mate with  her. 

While  time  was  thus  being  wasted  at  the  Luxem- 
bourg, Louis  submitted  to  the  almost  universal  an- 
tagonism and  withdrew  his  authorisation  to  the 
alliance.  "  The  Queen  and  the  princes  of  the 
blood  redoubled  their  entreaties  ;  the  Marechal  de 
Villeroy l  threw  himself  upon  his  knees,  with  tears 
in  his  eyes  ;  the  ministers  and  all  those  approaching 
the  King  expressed  the  voice  of  the  people.  At 
length  God  touched  the  King's  heart." 2  God  ?  No, 
but  a  creature  of  flesh  ;  Mme.  de  Montespan  for  the 
second  time  betrayed  Lauzun. 

La  Fare  affirms  the  statement  that  it  was  the 
counsel  of  Mme.  de  Maintenon  (still  only  Mme. 
Scarron)  painfully  earning  her  bread  in  bringing 
up  in  obscurity  the  children  of  Mme.  de  Montespan 

1  Ancient  Governor  of  the  King,  who  had  kept  a  strong  affection  for  his 
pupil. 

9  Philibert  Delamare,  loc.  dt. 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  291 

and  the  King.  Mme.  Scarron  had  cleverness  and 
prudence,  and  at  that  time  was  far  from  any  thought 
of  rivalry  ;  the  King  could  not  suffer  her.  She  said 
later  that  he  had  taken  her  for  a  "  learned  woman," 
only  caring  for  "  sublime  things  " 1 ;  and  Louis  dis- 
trusted Philimantes.  It  was,  therefore,  as  a  disin- 
terested friend  that  she  "  pointed  out  to  Mme.  de 
Montespan  the  tempest  which  she  would  draw  down 
upon  her  head  in  sustaining-  Lauzun  in  this  affair ; 
that  the  royal  family  and  the  King  himself  would 
reproach  her  for  the  steps  she  had  urged.  Mme. 
Scarron  succeeded  so  well  that  the  one  who  urged 
the  marriage  was  responsible  for  preventing  it."  2 

Louis  XIV.  yielded  to  the  urgency  of  Mme.  de 
Montespan  and  sent  to  the  Luxembourg  for  Ma- 
demoiselle. It  was  eight  o'clock  in  the  evening. 
Mademoiselle  uttered  a  cry  on  hearing  that  the 
King  commanded  her  presence.  "  I  am  in  despair; 
my  marriage  is  broken."  On  reaching  the  Tuiler- 
ies,  the  Princess  was  led  to  the  King  by  the  back 
staircase,  and  quickly  perceived  that  something 
was  being 'concealed  from  her.  In  fact,  Louis  had 
hidden  Conde  behind  a  door,  that  he  might  listen 
and  be  witness  to  what  passed. 

The  door  was  closed  behind  me.  I  found  the  King  alone, 
moved  and  sad.  "  I  am  in  despair  at  the  thought  of  what  I 
must  tell  you.  I  am  told  that  the  world  is  saying  that  I  am 

1  Mme.  de  Maintenon,  Lettres  historiques  et  ddifiantes  ;  cf.  Mtmoire  de 
Mile,  d'  Aumale,  published  by  M.  le  Comte  d'  Haussonville. 

2  The  Abbe  de  Choisy  relates  the  same  scene,  but  attributes  it  to  the 
Princesse  de  Carignan  (Marie  de  Bourbon-Soissons,  1666-1692). 


292  Louis  XIV.  and 

sacrificing  you  to  make  Lauzun's  fortune;  that  this  would  in- 
jure me  in  foreign  lands,  and  that  I  must  not  permit  the  affair 
to  be  consummated.  You  are  right  in  complaining  of  me; 
beat  me  if  you  wish.  I  will  bear  the  weight  of  any  expression 
of  anger  in  which  you  may  indulge,  and  feel  that  I  merit  your 
indignation."  "  Ah  !"  cried  I,  "  Sire,  what  do  you  tell  me  ? 
What  cruelty  ! " 

She  mingled  protestations  with  reproaches,  sobbed 
out  her  despair  on  her  knees,  and  pleaded  to  know 
the  fate  of  Lauzun.  "  Where  is  he,  Sire,  M.  de 
Lauzun  ?  "  "  Do  not  be  troubled  !  No  harm  shall 
come  to  him." 

True  sorrow  is  always  eloquent,  and  Louis  XIV. 
let  his  own  emotion  be  visible  without  shame : 

He  threw  himself  on  his  knees  and  embraced  me.  We  wept 
together  three  quarters  of  an  hour,  his  cheek  pressed  against 
mine,  he  weeping  bitterly  as  I  did:  "  Ah!  why  have  you 
wasted  time  in  reflection  ?  why  did  you  not  hasten  ? " — "  Alas, 
Sire!  who  could  have  distrusted  your  Majesty's  word  ?  You 
have  never  failed  any  one  before,  and  you  now  begin  with  me 
and  M.  de  Lauzun!  I  shall  die,  and  be  happy  in  dying.  I 
had  never  loved  any  one  before  in  all  my  life;  I  now  love, 
and  love  passionately  and  in  good  faith,  the  most  worthy  man 
in  your  kingdom;  my  only  joy  and  pleasure  will  be  in  his 
elevation.  I  hoped  to  pass  the  remainder  of  my  days  agreea- 
bly with  him,  and  in  honouring  and  loving  you  as  warmly  as 
my  husband.  You  gave  him  to  me;  you  now  take  him  away; 
it  is  tearing  out  my  heart." 

Some  one  coughed  behind  the  door.  "  To  whom 
are  you  betraying  me,  Sire  ?  Can  it  be  M.  le 
Prince  ?  "  Mademoiselle  grew  bitter,  and  the  King 
wished  to  end  the  scene  ;  but  she  continued  to  sup- 
plicate him :  u  What,  Sire,  will  you  not  yield  to 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  293 

my  tears  ?  "  He  replied,  raising  his  voice  so  that  he 
might  be  heard,  "  Kings  must  satisfy  the  public  "  ; 
and  added,  an  instant  after,  "  It  is  late  ;  I  can  say 
no  more  nor  differently,  even  if  you  remained 
longer."  "  He  embraced  me  and  conducted  me  to 
the  door." 

Such  is  the  recital  of  Mademoiselle.  Another 
account  of  the  interview  exists,  dictated  the  same 
evening  by  Louis  to  his  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs, 
as  the  following  letter,  written  the  next  morn- 
ing, testifies.  Before  the  King  had  risen,  M.  de 
Lyonne  wrote  in  haste  to  M.  de  Pomponne,  the 
French  Ambassador  to  Holland  : 

I  am  overwhelmed  with  business,  and  have  no  time  for 
details,  but  I  do  not  doubt  that  every  letter  from  Paris  has 
brought  news  of  the  projected  marriage  of  the  Grande  Ma- 
demoiselle with  Comte  de  Lauzun.  I  must  now  warn  you 
that  the  King  broke  this  off  yesterday  at  eleven  o'clock  in  the 
evening,  so  that  few  people  could  be  aware  of  the  fact  before 
the  departure  of  the  post.  I  have  already  outlined  a  circular 
letter  from  his  Majesty,  to  be  sent  to  all  the  Foreign  Ministers, 
to  inform  them  of  what  has  passed  in  regard  to  this  affair 
during  the  past  seven  or  eight  days;  but  as  the  King  does  not 
wake  before  nine  o'clock,  and  as  the  courier  will  by  that  time 
have  departed,  his  Majesty  will  not  be  able  to  sign  in  time  for 
the  letters  to  be  forwarded  to-day,  and  you  must  be  contented 
with  the  simple  news,  that  the  affair  is  ended.  I  pray  you  to 
send  a  copy  of  this  note  to  M.  le  Chevalier  de  Terlon  and 
to  the  Sieur  Rousseau,1  and  to  advise  them  that  I  have  re- 
quested you  so  to  do. 

Before   referring   to  the  circular   letter  of  His 

1  The  French  Charge  d' Affaires  in  Sweden  and  Germany,  Archives  de  la 
Bastille. 


294  Louis  XIV.  and 

Majesty  upon  the  subject  which  caused  the  cries 
and  tears  of  his  poor  cousin,  it  should  be  noted 
that  it  seemed  perfectly  natural,  to  judge  by  the 
documents  of  the  times,  to  advise  officially  foreign 
powers  of  events  with  which  they  were  actually  but 
little  concerned.  In  the  opinion  of  the  seventeenth 
century,  the  man  was  inseparable  from  the  sov- 
ereign, and  France  was  deeply  impressed  with  the 
universal  importance  of  Louis  XIV.  and  by  con- 
sequence of  the  obligations  devolving  upon  him. 
"  He  must  account  to  all  Europe  for  his  actions," 
says,  in  regard  to  the  "Affair  Lauzun,"  the  "relation" 
already  quoted.1 

It  is  also  well  to  recollect,  in  order  to  understand 
the  text  of  the  letter,  that  one  of  the  half-sisters  of 
Mademoiselle  had  married  the  Due  de  Guise, 
cadet  of  the  House  of  Lorraine ;  an  alliance  hardly 
less  unequal  in  the  eyes  of  the  French  aristocracy 
than  that  of  Lauzun  with  the  Princess.  This  mar- 
riage had  excited  but  little  attention,  there  being  a 
wide  difference  between  the  importance  of  the  sisters. 
Referring  to  this  event,  the  "  Deputies  of  the  no- 
bility of  France  "  had  not  failed  to  assert  that  the 
nobles  of  France  and  the  officers  of  the  Crown 
were  quite  equal  to  foreign  princes,  and  in  par- 
ticular to  the  "  Lorraines  "  in  spite  of  their  preten- 
sions. With  this  explanation,  the  text  of  the  long 
despatch  addressed  to  the  ambassadors  is  given. 
It  begins  in  these  terms  : 

As  what  has  taken  place  during  the  past  five  or  six  days  in 
1  Philibert  Delamare,  loc.  cit. 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  295 

regard  to  a  plan  formed  by  my  cousin  for  marrying  the  Comte 
de  Lauzun,  one  of  the  Captains  of  the  Body  Guard,  will  prob- 
ably make  a  great  noise  everywhere,  and  -as  my  conduct  in 
the  matter  is  liable  to  be  interpreted  malignantly,  and  to  be 
blamed  by  those  who  may  be  incorrectly  informed  of  the  facts, 
I  believe  it  a  duty  to  instruct  all  my  Foreign  Ministers." 


The  King  then  explains  in  detail  the  affair,  and 
this  explanation  exactly  accords  with  the  recital  of 
Mademoiselle,  save  that  Louis  XIV.  states  that  he 
was  opposed  to  the  marriage  from  the  beginning, 
and  only  yielded  because  he  was  weary  of  the  dis- 
cussion, being  constantly  harassed  by  his  cousin  and 
the  Deputies  of  the  nobility  :  "  She  [Mademoiselle] 
continued  .  .  .  through  notes  and  every  other 
available  means  to  press  me  urgently  to  give  the 
consent  she  demanded  of  me,  as  this  alone  could,  as 
she  said,  give  the  happiness  and  repose  of  her  life." 
The  Deputies  had  also  represented  to  him 


thatafter  havingconsentedtothemarriage  of  mycousindeGuise, 
not  only  without  making  the  least  difficulty  but  with  pleasure, 
I  should  resist  this,  so  ardently  desired  by  her  sister,  I  should 
clearly  show  that  I  made  a  great  distinction  between  the  ca- 
dets of  royal  houses  and  the  Officers  of  my  Crown.  Such  a 
distinction  Spain  did  not  make,  but  on  the  other  hand,  gave 
precedence  to  its  own  Grandees  over  any  foreign  Princes,  and 
it  was  impossible  that  the  making  of  this  difference  in  France 
should  not  greatly  mortify  the  entire  nobility  of  the  kingdom. 
In  conclusion,  the  urgency  of  these  four  persons  was  so  strong, 
and  their  reasons  so  convincing,  especially  that  emphasising  the 
danger  of  insulting  the  French  nobility,  that  I  yielded,  and 
gave  consent  to  the  marriage,  shrugging  my  shoulders  at  the 


296  Louis  XIV.  and 

folly  of  my  cousin,  and  only  saying  that  as  she  was  forty-three, 
she  might  do  as  she  pleased. 

He  continued,  "  From  this  moment  it  was  con- 
sidered that  the  affair  was  concluded."  Then  follow 
the  details  already  known,  preparations  for  the  cere- 
mony, the  crowd  at  the  Luxembourg ;  rumours 
"  very  injurious  "  that  the  King  was  responsible  for 
the  marriage,  wishing  to  favour  Lauzun  ;  and  finally, 
the  resolve  to  break  off  the  affair. 

This  is  the  single  point  on  which  Louis  XIV.  be- 
lieved it  to  be  his  duty  to  restrict  his  confidences 
to  the  universe.  He  passes  over  in  silence  the  sup- 
plications of  Mme  de  Montespan  and  the  fact  of 
Conde  being  hidden  behind  the  door: 

I  sent  for  my  cousin.  I  declared  to  her,  that  I  would  not  suf- 
fer her  to  cross  the  frontier  for  marriage,  and  that  I  could  not 
consent  that  she  should  marry  any  Prince  who  was  my  sub- 
ject, 1  but  that  she  might  choose  among  the  (qualified)  nobles 
of  France,  with  the  exception  of  Lauzun,  and  that  I  myself 
would  conduct  her  to  church. 

It  is  superfluous  to  tell  you  with  what  grief  she 
received  this  announcement,  how  she  wept  and 
sobbed.  She  threw  herself  upon  her  knees.  "  I 
had  pierced  her  heart  with  a  hundred  dagger  strokes; 
she  wished  to  die";  I  remained  firm. 

The  King  added  that  he  made  the  same  communi- 
cation to  Lauzun,  "  and  I  may  say  that  he  received  it 
with  all  the  self-control,  submission,  and  resignation 

1  This  exclusion  probably  refers  to  the  Prince  de  Conde,  with  whom  an 
alliance  would  have  been  considered  a  danger  to  the  peace  of  France. 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  297 

which  I  could  desire."1  It  is  with  the  unfavour- 
able comparison  to  Mademoiselle  that  this  curious 
document  terminates.  Louis  displayed  but  little 
generosity  before  a  grief  so  deep. 

The  Princess  regained  her  chamber  in  a  pitiable 
state.  She  went  into  hysterics  and  broke  the 
windows  of  the  carriage.  At  the  Luxembourg, 
the  salon  was  filled  with  a  curious  crowd  awaiting 
her  return.  "  Two  of  her  footmen  entered  into 
the  room,  saying  in  loud  voices,  '  Depart  at  once, 
by  degrees.'  Every  one  scattered  immediately  ; 
but  I  remained  the  last,  and  saw  Mademoiselle 
advance  from  the  hall  of  the  Guards  like  a  dishev- 
elled fury,  menacing  heaven  and  earth  with  ex- 
tended arms."  She  had  barely  time  to  regain  a 
slight  degree  of  calm,  when  Lauzun  entered,  ac- 
companied by  Messieurs  de  Montausier,  Crequi, 
and  Guitry.  "  On  seeing  him,  I  uttered  loud  cries, 
and  he  could  hardly  restrain  himself  from  weeping." 
The  nobles  of  France  came  at  the  command  of  the 
King  to  thank  the  granddaughter  of  Henri  IV.  for 
the  honour  that  she  wished  to  confer  upon  them. 
M.  de  Montausier  bore  the  address. 

Mademoiselle  sobbed.  M.  de  Lauzun  had,  with 
full  understanding,  taken  the  expected  attitude,  of  a 
man  who  blesses  the  most  cruel  blows  coming  from 
the  hand  of  his  King.  "  M.  de  Lauzun,"  wrote  Mme 
de  Sevigne*,  "  has  played  his  r6le  to  perfection  ; 

1  La  Correspondance  de  Pomponne  (Bibl.  de  1* Arsenal,  4712,  1598,  n.  F.), 
fol.  373.  M.  Cheruel  in  the  appendix  to  volume  iv.  of  the  Me'moires  de 
Mademoiselle,  and  M.  Li  vet  in  r  Histoire  amour  euse  des  Gaules,  have  pub- 
lished this  letter  after  an  inexact  copy. 


298  Louis  XIV.  and 

he  has  sustained  his  misfortune  with  firmness  and 
courage,  and  has  nevertheless  displayed  a  grief,  min- 
gled with  profound  respect,  which  has  won  the  ad- 
miration of  all." 1 

The  Princess  would  have  been  contented  with 
something  less  admirable.  She  said  to  him  :  "  '  You 
show  such  strength  of  mind,  that  all  will  believe 
you  to  be  indifferent  to  me.  What  do  you  say  ?  * 
and  I  sobbed  with  each  word."  He  responded 
very  coolly  :  "  If  you  take  my  counsel,  you  will  go 
to-morrow  to  dine  at  the  Tuileries,  and  will  thank 
the  King  for  the  honour  that  he  has  done  you, 
in  having  prevented  an  action  of  which  you  would 
have  repented  all  your  life."  She  led  her  lover 
aside  and  had  the  pleasure  of  seeing  him  weep. 
"  He  could  not  speak,  nor  could  I.  I  could  only 
say  :  '  What !  I  am  never  to  see  you  more  ?  I  shall 
certainly  die.'  Then  we  turned  around.  .  .  . 
These  gentlemen  departed ;  I  went  to  bed ;  I  re- 
mained twenty-four  hours  almost  without  con- 
sciousness." She  forbade  any  one  to  be  admitted. 
Her  door  was,  however,  opened  on  Friday  morning 
for  Mme.  de  S^vigne.  Just  twenty-four  hours  had 
elapsed  since  Mademoiselle  had  overflowed  with 
joy  before  her  friend  and  despised  any  warnings. 
"  I  found  her  in  bed2  ;  she  redoubled  her  cries  on 
seeing  me ;  called  me,  embraced  me,  and  deluged 
me  with  her  tears.  She  said  :  '  Alas  !  do  you  re- 
member what  you  said  yesterday  ?  Ah  !  what  cruel 

1  Letter  dated  December  24,  1670. 
8  Letter  dated  December  31, . 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  299 

prudence  ! '  I  wept  through  sympathy  with  her 
woe."  A  little  later  the  King  was  announced. 
"  When  he  entered,"  reports  Mademoiselle,  "  I  be- 
gan to  cry  with  all  my  strength  ;  he  embraced  me  and 
placed  his  cheek  against  mine.  I  said,  *  Your  Ma- 
jesty acts  like  monkeys  who  stifle  their  children 
embracing  them.' '  As  he  was  promising  all  kinds 
of  wonderful  things  to  console  her,  among  others 
"  that  he  would  do  fine  things  for  M.  de  Lauzun," 
she  had  the  presence  of  mind,  in  spite  of  her  an- 
guish, to  demand  if  she  might  not  see  her  friend 
again.  The  reply  of  the  King  should  be  remembered, 
as  it  brought  serious  results  for  his  cousin.  He 
said  :  "  I  do  not  forbid  you  to  see  him  ;  .  .  . 
and  assuredly  you  cannot  take  advice  of  a  worthier 
man  in  regard  to  any  of  your  affairs  than  Lauzun." 
She  hastened  to  confirm  the  permission.  "  It  is 
my  intention,  Sire,  and  I  am  very  happy  that 
you  desire  that  he  should  continue  to  be  my 
best  friend  ;  but  at  least,  Sire,  you  will  not  change 
as  you  did  before  ?  I  cannot  help  reproaching 
you." 

The  succeeding  days  she  was  obliged  to  reopen 
her  doors,  and  the  same  crowd  which  had  feigned  to 
rejoice  with  her  now  pretended  to  pity  her.  It 
was  necessary  to  see  again  the  same  faces,  to  sub- 
mit to  curious  looks,  glances  filled  with  raillery, 
and  to  reply  to  banal  remarks.  There  was  much 
joking  in  Paris  at  her  having  received  condolences 
in  bed,  after  the  fashion  of  widows.  "  I  have  heard 
in  the  salon  of  Mme.  de  Maintenon,"  relates  Mme. 


300  Louis  XIV.  and 

de  Caylus,1  "that  she  cried  out  in  her  despair,  '  He 
should  be  there  beside  me  ! ' 

A  grand  Princess,  to  be  dying  of  love  and  for  a 
simple  cadet  from  Gascogne,  almost  a  country  fel- 
low ;  this  was  a  novel  spectacle,  which  so  shocked 
all  ideas  of  decorum  that  the  public  could  not  take 
to  heart  very  seriously  this  slightly  theatrical  grief. 
It  was  pretended  that  Louis  had  said,  "  This  is 
only  a  fantasy  born  in  three  days  and  which  will 
i  pass  as  rapidly."  True  or  false,  the  King  wished 
to  believe  this,  and  the  phrase  received  general  ap- 
probation. It  relieved  the  fashionable  world  from 
the  duty  of  sympathising  with  the  unfortunate,  who 
was  eating  out  her  own  heart,  and  visibly  fading 
away. 

"  I  grew  thin,  with  hollow  cheeks,  as  a  person 
who  neither  eats  nor  sleeps,  and  I  wept  the  min- 
ute that  I  was  alone,  or  when  I  met  any  friends  of 
M.  de  Lauzun  and  they  talked  of  events  which  had 
any  connection  with  him.  I  always  desired  to  speak 
of  him."  The  hope  of  a  speedy  death  was  her 
sole  consolation,  for  no  one,  she  was  convinced 
/  had  so  deeply  suffered.  "  My  state  was  pitiable, 
and  it  must  have  been  experienced  to  be  appre- 
ciated, for  such  feelings  cannot  be  expressed.  It  is 
necessary  to  know  one's  self,  in  order  to  judge,  and 
no  one  can  have  felt  a  grief  equal  to  mine  ;  there 
is  nothing  which  can  compare  with  it."  This  is  the 
universal  language  of  disappointed  lovers  ;  but  the 
expressive  phrase  below  is  not  at  the  disposal  of  all 

1  Souvenirs  et  Correspondance. 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  301 

souls.  It  is  only  applicable  to  moments  in  which 
the  excess  of  grief  renders  it  almost  unconscious  : 
"  On  account  of  feeling  too  much,  I  felt  nothing." 

The  fifth  day,  etiquette  exacted  that  she  should 
find  herself  consoled.  Her  duties  as  Princess  were 
recalled  to  her.  "  It  was  needful  to  go  to  Court, 
it  was  not  well  to  pass  eight  days  without  seeing 
the  King." 

In  vain  she  fought  against^  such  cruel  exactions; 
she  was  forced  to  make  a  spectacle  of  herself,  still 
with  "  discomposed  face,  red  and  swollen  eyes,  with 
constant  floods  of  tears,  at  proper  or  improper  mo- 
ments, with  sharp  cries  at  sight  of  Lauzun." 

Lauzun  opened  his  eyes  wide  upon  her  as  upon' 
a  naughty  child,  and  severely  menaced  her :  "  If  you 
act  in  this  manner,  I  will  never  be  found  again  in  ; 
the  same  room  with  you  ! "  But  she  could  not  com- 
pose herself.  One  evening,  at  a  great  Court  ball, 
she  stopped  in  the  middle  of  a  dance  and  began  to 
weep.  The  King  rose  and  placed  his  hat  before 
her  face,  leading  her  out  of  the  room  and  explain- 
ing, "  My  cousin  has  vapours."  The  public  did 
not  pity  her.  It  would  have  liked  to  celebrate  her 
defeat.  "  All  have  praised  the  King  for  this  ac- 
tion," wrote  Olivier  d'Ormesson. 

Louis  XIV.  was  again  popular,  a  transient  pop- 
ularity which  lasted  only  a  few  days.  "It  may  be 
said  that  not  only  the  Court,  but  the  entire  king- 
dom has  rejoiced  in  the  rupture  of  the  proposed 
marriage."  The  sentiment  of  approval  was  unani- 

1  Philibert  Delamare,  loc.  fit. 


302  Louis  XIV.  and 

mous.  As  to  the  Princess,  who  was  guilty  of  asserting 
the  right  to  "personal  happiness,"  opinion  judged 
her  severely.  The  seventeenth  century  did  not  ad- 
mit, as  has  been  seen,  that  individual  sentiments 
or  the  interests  of  the  heart  could  predominate 
over  the  exactions  of  rank  or  society,  and  the  age 
of  the  lovers  and  disparity  of  their  appearance,  she 
so  tall,  he  almost  a  dwarf,  aroused  ridicule  instead 
of  sympathy.  The  Grande  Mademoiselle  was  sud- 
denly rewarded  "with  contempt,"  "for,"  says  La 
Fare,  "  if  this  contemplated  alliance  appeared  ex- 
traordinary as  soon  as  the  news  was  made  public,  it 
became  ridiculous  as  soon  as  it  was  broken." 

It  is  agreeable  to  meet  among  these  people,  who 
were  right  in  the  main,  but  who  were  malicious  and 
uncharitable,  one  good  Samaritan. 

While  Mme.  de  Sevigne  wrote  gaily,  "All  is 
finished,"1  the  tears  of  Mademoiselle  inspired  kind 
and  courageous  words  from  a  person  comparatively 
obscure,  and  who  excused  herself  from  correspond- 
ing because  she  did  not  have  enough  "wit."  A 
letter,  dated  January  21,  1671,  addressed  to  Bussy- 
Rabutin  by  Mme.  de  Scudery,  sister-in-law  of  the 
illustrious  Madeleine,  contains  this  paragraph  : 

I  will  say  nothing  of  *the  affair  of  Mademoiselle.  You  are 
no  doubt  acquainted  with  all  that  has  passed.  I  will  only 
add  that,  if  you  realise  what  a  great  passion  can  be,  in  the 
heart  of  a  pure  woman  like  the  Princess,  you  will  not  wonder, 
but  will  have  sympathy.  For  myself,  who  know  nothing  of 
love  through  experience,  I  comprehend  that  Mademoiselle  is 

1  Letter  dated  December  24,  1670. 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  3°3 

much  to  be  pitied;  for  she  has  become  sleepless.  During  the 
day  she  is  agitated  and  weeps,  and  in  fact  is  leading  the  most 
miserable  existence  possible.1 

Bussy-Rabutin  replied  (A  Chaseu,  January  29, 


I  comprehend  what  passion  means  in  a  woman  of  the  age 
and  temperament  of  Mademoiselle,  who  has  preserved  her 
heart  hitherto  untouched,  and  I  confess  that  this  tale  arouses 
my  pity.  Love  seems  to  me  a  malady  like  the  small-pox; 
the  later  it  attacks  the  victim,  the  more  severe  the  illness. 

The  writer  had  indeed  well  understood  the  char- 
acteristics of  late  love  on  only  its  displeasing  side. 
But  his  attitude  was,  unfortunately,  the  one  adopted 
by  almost  every  one. 

Regarded  half-pityingly,  but  with  an  undercur- 
rent of  ridicule,  the  Grande  Mademoiselle  ceased 
to  be  interesting  to  the  fickle  French  public.  The 
fall  from  favour  was  very  definite.  The  heroine 
of  the  Fronde  was  effaced  in  the  eyes  of  contem- 
poraries, and  remained  only  a  ridiculous  old  maid, 
whose  woes  amused  the  gallery. 

1  Correspondence  de  Bussy-Rabutin,  published  by  Ludovic  Lalanne. 


CHAPTER  VI 

Was  Mademoiselle  secretly  Married? — Imprisonment  of  Lauzun — Splendour 
and  Decadence  of  France — La  Chambre  Ardente — Mademoiselle  pur- 
chases Lauzun's  Freedom — Their  Embroilment — Death  of  the  Grande 
Mademoiselle — Death  of  Lauzun — Conclusion. 

MANY  of  the  events  remaining  to  be  recorded 
are  very  obscure.  If  they  had  any  impor- 
tance, they  would  have  figured  in  the  collections  of 
historic  enigmas  and  problems  waiting  to  be  solved  ; 
but  they  hardly  merit  the  honour,  as  few  of  them 
have  had  any  such  influence  over  the  destinies  of 
France  as  had,  for  instance,  the  fact  of  the  sub- 
jection of  Anne  of  Austria  to  Mazarin.  Nor  do 
any  possess  the  romantic  attraction  which  attached 
to  the  legend  of  the  "  Man  with  the  Iron  Mask" 
before  its  explanation.  Petty  details,  however,  bring 
the  French  society  of  this  period  near  to  us,  and 
the  fact  that  events  cannot  always  be  interpreted 
makes  them  seem  more  like  real  life.  It  is  only  in 
romances  that  all  is  explained. 

The  most  obscure  of  these  smaller  problems  is 
the  question  of  the  marriage  of  Mademoiselle  with 
the  "  little  man,"  as  she  herself  called  him. 

Contemporary  opinion  has  been  almost  unani- 
mous in  its  belief  in  this  marriage.  Neither  date  nor 
place  nor  names  of  the  possible  witnesses  have  ever 

304 


Louis  XIV.  and  La  Grande  Mademoiselle  305 

been  satisfactorily  established,  as  was  done  in  the 
case  of  the  union  of  Louis  XIV.  and  Mme.  de 
Maintenon.  There  is  no  written  proof  of  the  fact ; 
Mademoiselle  had  the  habit  of  burning  her  letters, 
and  made  no  exception  in  favour  of  those  from 
Lauzun.  She  states  this  fact  with  regret,  in  her 
Mtmoires.  We  are  thus  reduced  to  moral  proofs. 
It  is  true  that  these  are  strong  in  favour  of  the 
event  having  taken  place ;  but  they  are  not  alto- 
gether unanswerable. 

The  belief  that  a  secret  bond  had  remained,  after 
the  official  rupture,  rested  in  the  mind  of  most 
people  interested.  One  of  the  correspondents  *  of 
Bussy-Rabutin  wrote  to  him,  February  17,  1671  : 
"  Mademoiselle  sometimes  still  weeps  when  she  re- 
flects, but  often  she  laughs  and  is  at  her  ease.  Her 
lover  continues  to  see  her  and  no  one  opposes  it. 
I  do  not  know  what  will  happen."  Three  weeks 
later,  Mme.  de  Scudery  made  allusion  to  the  same 
rumour  (Paris,  March  6,  1671)  :  "  Mademoiselle  is 
always  conversing  with  M.  de  Lauzun.  Their  con- 
versations begin  and  end  with  tears.  I  assure  you, 
however,  that  there  will  be  no  result."  Bussy  was 
among  those  who  believed  that  it  "  would  come  to 
something."  He  replied  on  the  I3th  to  Mme.  de 
Scudery :  "  I  am  convinced  that  the  affair  of  Ma- 
demoiselle and  Lauzun  will  have  a  happy  issue,  not 
in  the  manner  they  at  first  hoped,  but  in  a  more 
secret  method  to  which  the  King  will  consent." 

1  M.  du  Honsett,  Ancient  Intendant  of  Finance.     He  had  just  purchased 
the  office  of  Chancellor  of  Monsieur. 


306  Louis  XIV.  and 

Would  Mademoiselle  accept  this  other  way  ? 
Doubt  is  permissible.  Marriages  of  conscience,  if 
fashionable  in  the  seventeenth  century,  created 
false  situations,  sometimes  very  humiliating  ones, 
to  a  person  not  an  absolute  sovereign  account- 
able to  no  one,  and  in  a  position  to  let  the  truth 
come  out  or  not  as  it  pleased  him.  For  the  rest  of 
mortals,  secret  marriages  must  actually  remain 
concealed,  or  there  would  result  endless  difficulties. 
On  this  account,  the  married  pair  could  only  meet 
through  a  happy  chance,  which  is  not  agreeable, 
while  it  was  also  almost  impossible  to  escape  sus- 
picious commentaries  and  the  uncomfortable  de- 
pendence upon  the  fidelity  of  servants.  Segrais 
would  never  believe  that  Mademoiselle  had  mar- 
ried Lauzun,  and  one  of  the  reasons  given  was 
"that  she  sent  away  Madelon,  her  chambermaid, 
and  she  would  not  have  done  this  if  Madelon  had 
been  able  to  gossip."  Segrais  might  have  added 
that  his  mistress  had  always  severely  criticised  the 
equivocations  arising  from  marriages  of  conscience. 

But  all  was  changed  after  the  serious  conversa- 
tion between  the  King  and  Mademoiselle  behind 
the  closed  doors.  Mademoiselle  encouraged  Lau- 
zun to  assume  airs  of  authority,  and  she  was  meekly 
submissive.  "  He  regarded  me  with  such  a  look 
that  I  no  longer  dared  to  weep,  the  power  that  he 
had  over  me  retaining  my  tears.  It  is  much  wiser 
not  to  lose  self-control ! " 

It  was  by  his  advice  that  she  cleared  her  palace  of 
all  who  had  blamed  their  first  plan.  M.  de  Mon- 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  307 

tausier  and  Mme.  de  Sevigne  tried  in  vain  to  save 
Segrais,  who  "  was  their  special  friend."  "  She  can- 
not be  touched,"  wrote  Mme.  de  Sevigne,  "  upon  a 
subject  which  approaches  to  within  nine  hundred 
leagues  of  a  certain  cape."  It  was  Lauzun  who 
designated  the  successor  of  Guillore,  her  Intendant, 
and  who  submitted  the  choice  to  the  King.  This 
might  give  rise  to  remark.  Lauzun  warned  Ma- 
demoiselle of  this  danger.  f<  It  may  be  said  in  the 
world  that  I  wish  to  rule  you  completely."  She 
responded  :  "  Please  God  that  you  should  ;  that  is 
what  I  profoundly  desire."  Mademoiselle  had  con- 
firmed through  new  acts  the  lavish  gifts  assured  by 
the  contract,  and  the  King  rivalled  his  cousin  in 
generosity.  If  the  courtiers  can  be  believed,  Louis"^  ' 
had  promised  Lauzun  that  he  should  lose  nothing 
by  not  marrying  Mademoiselle.  In  any  case,  he 
heaped  favours  upon  him.  The  first  gift  was  the 
government  of  Berri,  with  fifty  thousand  francs  to  ; 
pay  his  debts  and  the  hope  that  Fortune  would  con- 
tinue her  benedictions.  Louvois  grew  anxious  and 
amassed  shiploads  of  hatred  against  the  favourite. 
The  winter  passed  in  this  manner.  In  the  spring, 
the  Court  returned  to  Flanders.  During  a  sojourn 
at  Dunkerque  so  much  was  said  of  the  intimacy  of 
the  "dwarf"  with  the  Grande  Mademoiselle,  that 
the  report  reached  the  ears  of  the  Princess  :  "  The 
rumour  is  circulating  that  we  were  married  be- 
fore leaving  Paris,  and  the  Gazette  de  Hollande  con- 
firms this.  Some  one  brought  the  paper  to  me  ;  I 

1  Letter  dated  April  i,  1671. 


308  Louis  XIV.  and 

showed  it  to  Lauzun,  who  laughed."  Two  pages 
further  on,  another  conversation  proves  that  the 
news  was  at  least  premature ;  but  the  public  had 
the  right  to  be  deceived,  so  tender  and  familiar  was 
the  intercourse  between  the  couple. 

There  was  a  question  in  this  same  spring  of  a 
trip  to  Fontainbleau  : 

I  said  to  M.  de  Lauzun,  "  Take  care  to  wear  a  cap  when  you 
are  in  the  forest;  the  evening  dew  is  bad  for  the  teeth,  and 
further  you  are  subject  to  weak  eyes  and  to  catching  cold. 
The  air  of  Fontainbleau  makes  the  hair  fall  out."  He  re- 
plied: "I  certainly  must  try  to  preserve  my  teeth.  I  also  fear 
cold;  but  as  for  the  red  eyes  with  which  you  are  constantly 
reproaching  me,  they  are  caused  by  wakefulness,  with  which 
I  have  been  troubled  for  some  time.  As  for  my  hair,  I  have 
too  little  left  to  take  further  pains  about  it." 

She  preached  neatness  to  him.  "  If  you  are 
slovenly,  it  will  be  said  that  I  have  bad  taste.  For 
my  sake,  you  must  be  careful."  Lauzun  only 
laughed.  Indeed,  she  scolded  him  through  jeal- 
ousy, fearing  that  he  was  escaping  from  her  in- 
fluence and  going  she  did  not  know  where,  and 
perceiving  this,  he  cajoled  her.  "  As  soon  as  he 
saw  that  I  wished  to  scold  him,  he  had  unequalled 
methods  for  putting  me  in  a  good  humour."  All 
this  folly  resembled  a  honeymoon,  and  the  Mtmoires 
of  Mademoiselle  for  this  same  year  include  a  pas- 
sage which  is  almost  a  confession.  "  It  is  still  said 
that  we  are  married.  We  neither  of  us  say  any- 
thing, it  being  only  our  particular  friends  who 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  309 

would  dare  to  address  us,  and  it  is  easy  to  laugh 
at  them,  only  saying,  *  The  King  knows  all.' ' 

The  conduct  of  Mademoiselle  during  the  ten 
years  following  being  a  perpetual  and  striking  con- 
firmation of  this  half-confession,  the  fact  of  the 
secret  marriage  would  seem  to  be  assured,  and  the 
date  would  be  placed  between  May  and  Novem- 
ber, 1671,  if  it  were  not  for  a  last  quotation,  to  be 
given  at  its  proper'  date,  which  again  throws  doubt 
upon  the  event. 

Whatever  the  truth  may  be,  it  would  appear  that 
Mademoiselle  had  known  how  to  reunite  the  broken 
fragments  of  her  happiness  ;  but  Lauzun,  for  a  sec- 
ond time,  lost  everything.  He  had  easily  learned 
that  he  owed  the  rupture  of  the  first  plan  to  Mme. 
de  Montespan,  and  had  conceived  so  furious  a  hate 
against  this  false  friend  that  he  lost  his  head. 

After  a  scene  worthy  of  fishwives,  in  which  he  had" 
called  her  names  impossible  to  print,  he  would 
proceed  to  declaim  against  her  in  the  salons,  with 
the  utmost  violence,  and  sometimes  at  only  a  few 
steps  from  her  ears.  The  courtiers  marvelled  at 
the  excessive  insolence  on  the  one  side  and  the 
curious  patience  on  the  other,  for  Mme.  de  Monte- 
span  endured  these  outrages  without  whispering  a 
single  protest.  It  was  rumoured  that  she  had 
once  been  his  mistress,  and  that  his  power  was 
derived  from  this  fact. 

It  is  to  this  enforced  penitence  of  the  all-powerful 
favourite  that  Mme.  Scarron  alluded  when  at  a 
supper,  the  account  of  which  is  given  by  Mme.  de 


310  Loius  XIV.  and 

Sevigne 1 :  "  she  dilated  upon  the  horrible  agitations 
in  a  country  very  well  known,  the  continual  rage 
of  the  little  Lauzun,  and  the  black  chagrin  or  the 
sad  boredom  of  the  ladies  of  Saint-Germain  ;  and 
suggested  that  the  most  envied  was  perhaps  not 
always  exempt."  Mme.  Scarron  had  seen  the 
"  horrible  agitations  "  very  near,  for  it  was  she  who 
had  intervened  against  Lauzun  ;  it  was  upon 
her  representations  that  Mme.  de  Montespan  had 
ended  by  saying  to  the  King  that  "  she  did  not 
believe  that  her  life  was  safe  as  long  as  this  man 

r          "2 

was  free. 

Lauzun  was  arrested  at  Saint-Germain,  in  his 
chamber,  the  evening  of  November  25,  1671.  The 
evening  previous,  Mademoiselle  had  departed  for 
Paris  declaring  :  "  I  do  not  know  what  is  the  mat- 
ter ;  I  am  in  such  dreadful  apprehension  that  I 
cannot  remain  here."  She  wept  on  the  way. 
She  very  well  knew  the  cause.  One  of  her  friends 
had  been  asked,  "  if  M.  de  Lauzun  had  been  ar- 
rested," and  this  query  had  worried  her. 

Delayed  by  chance  or  by  precaution,  the  news  of 
the  arrest  did  not  reach  the  Luxembourg  until 
twenty-four  hours  later.  Lauzun  was  already  on 
the  road  to  Pignerol.  Before  him  hastened  M.  de 
Nallot,  a  man  of  confidence  despatched  by  Lou- 
vois,  who  certainly  felt  a  ferocious  joy  in  the  action, 
to  bear  the  instructions  of  his  master  to  the  Sieur 
de  Saint-Mars,  governor  of  the  prison  of  Pignerol, 

1  Letter  dated  January  13,  1672. 

*  Mftmoircs  de  La  Fare.      Cf.  the  Mdmoires  de  Choisy,  Segraisiana,  etc. 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  311 

and  of  those  enclosed  within  its  walls.  Foucquet 
had  been  during  seven  years  under  the  care  of  Saint- 
Mars,  who  had  followed  orders  with  such  fidel- 
ity that  Louvois  did  not  doubt  that  he  would  be 
obeyed  as  blindly  in  any  commands  it  might  please 
him  to  give  regarding  Lauzun.  The  instructions 
gave  orders  to  imprison  him  with  one  valet,  and 
never  to  permit  him  to  leave  the  fortress  nor  to 
have  any  communication  with  the  outer  world. 
Saint-Mars  thus  responded : 

PIGNEROL,  December  9,  1671. 

Monseigneur,  M.  de  Nallot  arrived  here  on  the  fifth  instant, 
conveying  the  note  of  instructions  you  have  been  pleased  to 
send  me.  .  .  .  He  will  report  to  you  my  haste  in  pre- 
paring the  apartment  for  M.  de  Lauzun  ;  he  will  tell  you, 
Monseigneur,  that  I  will  lodge  him  in  the  two  low  vaulted 
chambers  which  are  over  those  of  M.  Foucquet :  these  are  the 
ones  with  the  barred  windows  you  yourself 1  examined.  From 
the  way  in  which  I  have  arranged  the  place,  I  can  respond 
with  my  life  for  the  safety  of  the  person  of  M.  de  Lauzun, 
and  also  the  certainty  of  intercepting  any  news  sent  or 
received. 

I  engage  upon  my  honour,  Monseigneur,  that  as  long  as 
this  gentleman  is  under  my  care  you  will  hear  no  further 
word  about  him,  it  will  be  as  if  he  already  lay  in  pace. 

The  place  prepared  is  so  constructed  that  I  can  have  holes 
made,  through  which  I  can  spy  into  the  apartment.  I  shall 
also  know  all  that  he  does  and  says  through  the  reports  of  a 
valet  whom  I  will  furnish  as  you  have  ordered  ;  I  have  found 
one  with  much  trouble,  because  the  clever  ones  do  not  wish 
to  pass  their  life  in  prison.  You  order  that  mass  shall  be 
celebrated  for  M.  de  Lauzun  only  on  fete  days  and  Sundays 

1  Louvois  had  visited  Pignerol  the  preceding  year. 


312  Louis  XIV.  and 

and  I  will  scrupulously  follow  the  letter  of  your  instructions. 
.  .  .  The  Confessor  of  M.  Foucquet  will  attend  the  new 
prisoner  on  Easter  and  at  no  other  time,  whatever  may  happen. 
My  only  desire  is  to  carry  out  exactly  the  orders  with  which 
you  have  honoured  me :  I  shall  always  endeavour  to  do  this 
with  zeal,  passion,  and  fidelity,  so  I  trust  that  you  may  be 
content  with  my  small  services.1 

All  the  officials  of  the  citadel  had  written  to 
Louvois  after  the  arrival  of  his  agent,  so  great  an 
impression  had  been  made.  It  was  said  that  M. 
de  Lauzun  was  a  great  criminal  and  a  very  danger- 
ous one  to  necessitate  such  precautions.  Each 
wished  to  show  his  special  zeal.  Louis  XIV.  was 
also  well  informed  about  the  prison  destined  for 
his  old  favourite. 

Louvois  showed  the  King  the  plan  he  had 
received.  The  apartment  consisted  of  two  low 
vaulted  rooms  facing  a  deserted  court,  through 
which  no  one  ever  passed.  The  windows  were 
darkened  by  iron  bars  and  were  covered  with  a 
sort  of  basket-work  used  in  prisons,  to  prevent  the 
occupant  seeing  or  being  seen.  Noises  from  with- 
out, even  those  from  the  guards  and  the  kitchen, 
did  not  penetrate  into  this  remote  place,  the  most 
"noiseless"  of  all  the  citadel,  on  account  of  the 
enormous  thickness  of  the  walls  and  of  the  vault- 
ing. "Never,"  said  one  of  the  letters,  "will  M. 

1  The  authorities  quoted  in  this  and  the  following  chapter,  upon  the  cap- 
tivity of  Lauzun,  are  in  part  unpublished  and  drawn  from  the  Archives  of 
the  Minister  of  War,  in  part  borrowed  from  the  Archives  de  la  Bastille,  by 
M.  Ravaisson.  See  also  a  collection  of  historic  documents  of  1829  : 
Historic  de  la  Detention  des  Philosophes,  by  J.  Delort. 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  3T3 

Foucquet  know  that  he  has  a  companion."  The 
correspondents  of  Louvois  unanimously  insisted 
upon  the  necessity  of  preventing  any  risk  of 
escape.  A  screen  of  iron  was  placed  in  the 
embrasure  of  the  windows  and  a  vissante  inserted 
in  the  chimney  to  prevent  M.  de  Lauzun  and 
M.  de  Foucquet  from  communicating  with  each 
other. 

When  this  new  command  left  Saint-Germain, 
Lauzun  was  already  locked  up  at  Pignerol.  He  ap- 
peared very  sad  and  depressed  during  the  journey. 
His  grief  was  changed  into  fury  at  sight  of  the 
dungeon  which  awaited  him.  Saint-Mars  wrote  to 
Louvois  (December  22,  1671)  :  "  Monseigneur,  my 
prisoner  is  in  so  profound  a  grief,  that  I  can  hardly 
describe  it.  He  said  to  me  that  I  had  made  him  a 
lodging  sczcula  sceculorum"  Lauzun  declared  that 
he  would  lose  his  reason,  and  his  agitation  seemed 
to  point  to  this  danger. 

[December  30]  I  do  not  believe,  Monseigneur,  that  I  can 
send  you  any  news  of  my  prisoner's  being  more  tranquil ;  he 
is  in  so  profound  a  grief  that  he  does  nothing  but  sigh  and 
beat  the  ground  with  his  feet.  He  asked  me  once  if  I  knew 
the  cause  of  his  detention  ;  I  replied  that  I  never  received 
any  news  of  this  sort  lest  I  should  be  tempted  to  tell  it. 

Lauzun  had  well  divined  the  cause  of  his  arrest, 
but  he  had  not  been  told.  All  explanation  had 
been  refused  at  Saint-Germain,  and  the  condemn- 
ing him  to  such  a  dungeon  with  the  most  rigorous 
secrecy,  with  no  declared  reason,  seemed  a  crying 


314  Louis  XIV.  and 

and  tyrannical  act  of  injustice.  Saint-Mars  began 
to  fear  a  tragic  ending. 

[January  12,  1672]  Monseigneur  .  .  .  he  is  overwhelmed 
with  so  extraordinary  a  grief  that  I  fear  he  may  lose  his  reason, 
or  kill  himself,  which  last  he  has  threatened  several  times.  .  .  . 
As  I  do  not  stop  to  listen  to  his  ravings,  he  accuses  me  of  hav- 
ing grown  hard  and  pitiless  through  my  long  occupation  as 
jailer;  and  repeats  that  he  has  never  been  judged  and  that  his 
worst  suffering  is  caused  by  the  fact  that  he  is  ignorant  of  his 
crime. 

He  had  never  been  judged  !  This  was  the  refrain 
during  ten  long  years  !  Foucquet,  his  neighbour, 
had  judges,  independants  or  not ;  he  had  known  the 
cause  of  his  accusation,  and  his  defence  had  been 
heard.  Lauzun  was  in  his  vault  through  the  good 
pleasure  of  the  King  without  having  had  a  chance 
to  justify  himself,  and  this  grievance  caused  his 
revolt. 

When  Mademoiselle  was  told  of  the  arrest  of 
Lauzun,  she  was  so  overcome  that  she  was  aston- 
ished "that  she  did  not  die."  She  remained  in  a 
most  pitiable  state  until  the  next  day.  She  was 
counselled  not  to  delay  an  appeal  to  the  King,  and 
it  was  needful  to  form  some  plan.  If  there  had 
been  only  herself  to  consider,  Mademoiselle  would 
have  been  ready  to  bid  adieu  to  the  world  ;  but 
there  was  Lauzun,  who  was,  according  to  the  cus- 
tom then  legal,  to  be  accused  when  he  could  not 
defend  himself,  and  there  was  only  herself  to  plead 
his  cause  with  the  King. 

It  was  impossible  to  abandon  her  lover,  and  Ma- 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  3*5 

demoiselle  found  strength  to  rise  and  to  go  to  Saint- 
Germain.  She  only  reached  the  King  in  the  even- 
ing at  supper.  "He  regarded  me  with  a  sad  and 
embarrassed  air.  I  looked  at  him  with  tears  in  my 
eyes,  but  said  nothing  ;  I  know  what  he  said  in  re- 
turning after  to  the  ladies  1  :  l  My  cousin  has  been 
very  courteous,  she  has  been  silent.'  He  would  have 
been  imprudent  to  address  me,  as  I  was  prepared 
to  reply  to  all." 

The  Court  of  France  was  at  that  date  very 
gay  and  animated.  Monsieur  had  just  remarried 
(November  16),  with  Elisabeth  Charlotte  de  Ba- 
viere,  Princess  Palatine,  famed  for  the  originality 
of  her  mind  and  the  freshness  of  her  language. 
The  King,  who,  without  wit,  had  good  taste,  was 
charmed  with  his  new  sister-in-iaw,  and  was  lavish 
with  fetes  in  her  honour.  At  first,  Mademoiselle 
considered  it  a  duty  to  be  present.  She  pathetic- 
ally relates  the  history  of  an  abominable  evening 
during  which  she  was  obliged  to  appear  to  be  en- 
joying the  spectacle  of  a  ballet,  while  her  thoughts 
were  far  distant,  following  a  coach  surrounded  by 
musketeers : 

To  think  that  he  was  absent;  that  it  was  bitterly  cold  and 
was  snowing  heavily,  and  that  my  dear  one  was  on  the  open 
road  on  his  way  to  prison;  to  picture  his  sufferings  and  his  piti- 
able appearance  made  my  heart  ache.  I  believe  that  it  would 
deceive  those  who  should  have  been  there  with  him  to  see  me 
here,  not  realising  the  torture  it  gives  me.  My  single  consola- 
tion is  that  these  constant  sacrifices  I  am  making  for  the  King, 

1  Mme.  de  Montespan  and  Mile,  de  La  Valliere  were  designated  briefly 
"/<?£  Dames  " 


316  Louis  XIV.  and 

may  in  the  end  arouse  his  pity  for  M.  de  Lauzun  and  renew 
his  tenderness,  for  I  am  not  able  to  persuade  myself  that  he  no 
longer  loves  him.  I  should  be  only  too  content  if  my  sacrifices 
can  accomplish  any  results.  This  is  my  motive  for  remaining 
near  the  Court  since  Lauzun's  imprisonment,  and  forces  me 
from  a  sense  of  duty  to  do  many  things  which  I  should  have 
avoided  if  I  had  only  consulted  my  inclinations.  With  a 
heart  pierced  with  tender  grief,  I  should  have  so  willingly  re- 
mained at  home  in  solitude  rather  than  to  drag  myself  through 
the  gay  scenes  of  the  Court  festivities." 

After  each  effort,  she  allowed  herself  slight  relaxa- 
tion and  retired  to  weep  in  some  corner,  then  re- 
turning to  the  King  with  red  and  swollen  eyes.  "  I 
am  persuaded"  wrote  she,  apropos  of  a  trip  with 
the  Court,  "  that  my  presence  has  recalled  the 
memory  of  M.  de  Lauzun  ;  this  is  the  reason  why  I 
wish  to  be  always'  before  the  eyes  of  the  King. 
.  i  .  I  cannot  believe  that  he  will  not  feel 
that  my  looks  are  ever  supplicating  him."  Ma- 
demoiselle was  very  ingenious  in  her  efforts  to 
refer  constantly  to  the  absent  one.  If  a  grated 
window  was  passed  she  began  to  sigh  and  to 
pity  those  in  prison.  If  there  was  a  rumour  that 
Lauzun  was  ill,  she  solicited  by  letter  the  soften- 
ing of  the  regime.  Louis  never  responded,  but  he 
did  not  show  any  displeasure.  The  enemies  of  the 
disgraced  one  endeavoured  to  detach  the  Princess 
from  her  lover.  They  knew  her  weakness ;  she 
was  very  jealous,  and  there  might  easily  be  occasion 
in  regard  to  Lauzun,  known  as  the  greatest  liber- 
tine of  this  licentious  Court.  At  the  moment  of 
arrest  his  papers  had  been  seized.  There  were 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  Z17 

many  letters ;  locks  of  hair  and  other  love  tokens, 
carefully  ticketed,  and  a  sort  of  secret  museum  en- 
closing portraits  that  Louis  XIV.  ordered  to  be  de- 
stroyed,— not  promptly  enough,  however,  as  many 
persons  enjoyed  a  glimpse  of  them,  and  were  able 
to  identify  the  originals. 

The  " caskets"  of  Lauzun  were  the  great  social 
scandal  of  the  winter,  and  there  were  people  enough 
to  exploit  the  contents  to  Mademoiselle.  They 
gained  nothing  for  their  pains  ;  she  had  the  wisdom 
not  to  listen.  They  belonged  to  the  past.  The 
same  kind  friends  endeavoured  to  open  her  eyes  to 
the  fact  that  she  had  been  deceived  in  giving  her 
heart  to  a  man  who  only  desired  her  millions.  They 
said  :  "  He  did  not  love  you  ;  when  he  was  promised 
wealth,  appointments,  he  readily  left  you  ;  the  day 
on  which  the  King  broke  the  marriage,  Lauzun 
gambled  all  the  evening  with  the  greatest  tranquil- 
ity  ;  he  cares  nothing  about  you."  Mademoiselle 
allows  in  her  Mtmoires  that  she  began  to  be  dis- 
turbed when  she  was  forced  to  hear  such  statements 
from  morning  till  night  during  a  series  of  years. 
Her  own  remembrances  only  too  well  confirmed 
the  truth.  She  had  never  received  a  word  of  ten- 
derness from  Lauzun,  not  even  a  truly  gracious 
word.  But  misfortune  is  an  invincible  safeguard 
with  generous  souls.  Mademoiselle  relates  that  her 
heart  "  fought  against  itself  "  in  favour  of  her  lover, 
and  the  heart  conquered,  since  each  new  year  found 
her  still  devoted,  still  indefatigable  in  her  efforts  to 
obtain  his  release. 


318  Louis  XIV.  and 

At  the  end  of  eight  years  there  could  be  no  more 
doubt.  Contemporaries  and  those  of  the  next  gen- 
eration have  tried  in  vain  to  discover  why  Louis 
XIV.  attached  so  serious  an  importance  to  prevent- 
ing Lauzun  from  receiving  news.  Of  what  was  he 
afraid  ?  Was  it  essential  for  the  safety  of  France 
to  insist  upon  such  minute  precautions  ? 

One  day,  fresh  linen  was  to  be  forwarded  to 
Lauzun  from  Saint-Germain.  Louvois  wrote  to 
Saint-Mars  (February  2,  1672):  "  Have  this  washed 
two  or  three  times  before  giving  it  to  him."  Saint- 
Mars  signified  that  he  comprehended  and  replied 
(February  20)  : 

I  shall  not  fail  to  have  the  linen  you  are  sending  to  Lau- 
zun thoroughly  wet  after  having  every  seam  examined,  any 
writing  which  may  be  upon  the  linen  will  thus  vanish. 
Everything  which  is  brought  out  of  his  room  is  put  at 
once  in  a  tub  of  water  after  being  examined,  and  the  laun- 
dress bringing  it  from  the  river  dries  it  before  the  fire  in  the 
presence  of  my  officers,  who  take  turn  at  this  duty,  week  by 
week.  I  also  take  the  same  precautions  with  the  towels, 
napkins,  etc. 

Another  time,  an  ancient  servant  of  Lauzun  was 
arrested  near  Pignerol,  who,  realising  that  he  was 
a  prisoner,  killed  himself,  and  letters  were  found 
on  the  body.  Had  there  been  any  intercourse  with 
the  prisoner?  This  thought  cast  Louvois  into  an 
inconceivable  agitation.  He  wished  at  every  cost 
to  clear  up  the  affair,  and  he  found  time  even  dur- 
ing the  war  with  Holland  to  write  letter  after  let- 
ter to  Pignerol  to  order  that  trace  of  accomplices 
should  be  sought. 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  319 

Men,  presumably  companions  of  the  dead,  were 
arrested.  Two  of  them,  who  had  fled  to  Turin, 
were  delivered  up  through  diplomatic  action.  It 
was  necessary  to  make  them  speak  "  through  any 
means,  no  matter  what "  ;  the  question  as  to 
whether  M.  de  Lauzun  had  received  news  must  be 
solved.  The  attendants  at  Pignerol  were  much 
perturbed.  An  officer  wrote  to  Louvois  to  "conjure" 
him  to  denounce  the  suspected  among  the  soldiers 
under  his  orders,  that  I  may  arrest  them  and  attach 
them  as  villains."  And  if  his  two  nephews,  who  were 
in  the  citadel,  should  be  found  to  be  the  guilty  ones 
he  "  would  be  their  first  executioner."  Saint-Mars 
was  humiliated  and  offended  that  he  should  be  sus- 
pected of  being  hoodwinked.  He  became  fero- 
cious against  the  "  miserable  beings "  who  had 
drawn  down  upon  him  this  insult,  and  he  willingly 
put  them  to  the  torture ;  "  for,  to  tell  the  truth," 
wrote  he  to  Louvois,  "  I  have  only  to  find  the 
smallest  charge  against  a  soldier  or  domestic,  and  I 
would  hang  him  at  once"  (August  20).  Some 
weeks  later  he  summed  up  the  result  of  the  inquest 
in  these  terms  (October  7)  :  "I  cannot  swear  that 
an  attempt  has  not  been  made  to  communicate  with 
Lauzun,  but  I  can  pledge  my  life  in  the  assurance 
that  the  effort  has  not  been  successful." 

Saint-Mars  had  another  grief.  Louvois  recom- 
mended to  him  incessantly  to  make  his  prisoner 
talk  and  to  report  every  word,  even  the  most  triv- 
ial, but  Lauzun  would  not  utter  a  syllable.  "  I  do 
not  know  why,"  wrote  Saint-Mars,  naively,  "  but  he 


320  Louis  XIV.  and 

distrusts  me,  and  hardly  dares  to  speak  to  me " 
(February  10,  1672).  On  March  19:  "  He  is  al- 
ways in  a  state  of  extraordinary  distrust  of  me." 
Louvois  insisted,  and  received  discouraged  letters. 
(March  30 :)  "  When  I  make  a  visit,  our  conversa- 
tion is  so  dry  and  difficult  that  we  often  pace  the 
room  a  hundred  times  without  interchanging  a 
word."  Saint-Mars  in  vain  sought  innocent  topics. 
He  tried  to  converse  about  the  weather.  M.  de 
Lauzun  interrupted  him  under  the  pretext  that  the 
state  of  the  weather  was  a  matter  of  indifference  to 
him,  since,  from  his  dungeon,  he  could  see  "  neither 


moon  nor  sun." 


Saint-Mars  inquired  about  his  health.  M.  de 
Lauzun  cut  him  short,  in  declaring  that  "  his  health 
was  a  matter  of  no  consequence  to  any  one,  and 
that  he  was  really  only  too  well."  Saint-Mars  did 
not  know  what  more  to  say.  He  became  furious. 
Lauzun  perceived  this,  and  grew  even  more  taci- 
turn. It  was  a  fair  and  even  fight.  At  the  end  of 
a  year,  Saint-Mars  had  not  advanced  an  inch. 

[January  7,  1673]  When  I  said  good  morning  or  good 
evening,  and  when  I  asked  him  how  he  felt,  he  made  low  bows, 
saying  that  he  was  well  enough  to  offer  his  most  humble 
respects;  after  having  thanked  him,  we  walked  some  time  to- 
gether without  speaking  to  each  other,  and,  as  I  wished  to  re- 
tire, I  asked  him  if  he  had  anything  to  demand.  He  made 
again  a  very  low  bow  and  conducted  me  to  the  door  of 
the  room;  this  is  the  point  at  which  we  have  arrived,  and 
I  am  afraid  that  we  shall  make  no  further  progress. 

Saint-Mars  tried  to  force  the  situation.     It  was 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  321 

he  who  furnished  the  prisoner  with  everything; 
who  gave  him  clothes,  furniture,  bought  his  eye- 
glasses, or  ordered  a  wig.  He  thought  that  a 
method  of  making  him  speak  would  be  to  give  him 
nothing  that  he  did  not  demand.  Lauzun  invented 
a  mute  language. 

Saint-Mars  would  perceive,  in  entering,  some 
wornout  or  broken  object  placed  in  a  conspicuous 
position,  having  the  air  of  saying  something. 
"  Sometimes,"  wrote  the  governor  of  the  citadel,  "  I 
feign  not  to  notice,  and  in  order  to  oblige  me  to 
speak,  Lauzun  will  direct  his  steps  so  as  to  pass  the 
object  again  and  again  until  I  am  forced  to  compre- 
hend." (May  6,  1672.) 

The  valet  was  almost  as  close  as  his  master. 
Saint-Mars  did  not  cease  to  lament  the  trouble 
which  "  these  people  "  gave  him.  Prisoners'  valets 
shared  the  fate  of  their  masters.  Once  confined, 
they  passed  the  sill  of  the  prison  only  with  the 
culprit ;  that  is  to  say,  in  many  cases  never,  which 
fact  rendered  it  extremely  difficult  to  procure 
servants.  The  one  with  Lauzun  was  a  "  wicked 
rascal "  who  had  been  bribed,  but  who  at  the  end  of 
three  months  refused  to  do  his  duty  as  spy. 

Saint-Mars  was  indignant  (February  20,  1672)  : 
"  With  your  permission,  I  will  put  him  [the  valet] 
in  a  place  that  I  reserve,  which  makes  the  dumb 
speak  after  a  month's  sojourn.  I  shall  learn  all 
from  him,  and  I  am  certain  that  he  will  not  forget 
the  least  trifle."  Upon  reflection,  however,  Saint- 
Mars  ended  by  being  patient.  How  was  he  to 


322  Louis  XIV.  and 

replace  the  fellow  ?  "  No  one  of  the  valets  attached 
to  the  citadel  would  enter  this  dungeon  if  I  paid 
him  millions.  They  have  noticed  that  those  whom 
I  have  placed  with  M.  Foucquet  never  come  out." 
Louvois  never  knew,  in  spite  of  earnest  desire, 
what  thoughts  the  fallen  favourite  was  conceiving 
in  his  prison. 

There  was  a  slight  recompense,  however,  on  the 
days  on  which  Lauzun  fell  into  a  rage,  which  often 
happened.  The  prisoner  could  not  digest  the  fact 
that  his  questions  remained  unanswered.  This 
might  be  reasonable  enough  if  he  asked  if  France 
were  at  war,  or  if  Mademoiselle  were  married ;  but 
why  refuse  news  of  his  own  affairs  ?  Why  con- 
ceal from  him  the  fact  of  his  mother  being  alive  or 
dead  ?  His  vexation  became  rage.  He  poured  out 
a  torrent  of  imprecations  and  bitter  complaints, 
and  Louvois  had  the  pleasure  of  hearing  by  the 
next  mail  that  silence  did  not  indicate  absence  of 
suffering. 

One  day  (January  28,  1673),  after  giving  an  ac- 
count of  one  of  these  explosions,  Saint-Mars  added  : 
"  He  said  all  this,  weeping  hot  tears  and  crying 
that  he  detested  his  miserable  life  ;  he  complained 
loudly  of  the  horrible  dungeon  which  I  have  given 
him,  where  he  has  lost  his  sight  and  his  health." 
The  wails  of  grief  echoed  even  through  Paris, 
leaking  out  from  the  cabinet  of  Louvois  and  the 
chamber  of  Mme.  de  Montespan,  and  the  public 
demanded  with  curiosity  what  Lauzun  had  done  to 
deserve  a  punishment  so  rigorous.  "  I  can  never 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  323 

believe,"  wrote  Mademoiselle,  "  that  it  is  by  the 
orders  of  the  King."  It  was  easily  guessed  that 
Louvois  was  avenging  his  frights  and  Mme.  de 
Montespan  her  humiliations  ;  but  why  did  the  King 
permit  such  severity  ?  for  Louis  had  never  appeared 
to  take  very  much  to  heart  the  entanglements  of 
these  two  Court  powers  with  his  favourite. 

It  is  needful  to  recollect  that  the  seventeenth 
century  had  no  greater  respect  for  human  liberty 
than  for  human  life.  Only  rank  and  birth  were  of 
value,  and  these  were  honoured  in  a  greater  de- 
gree than  it  is  possible  now  to  comprehend.  This 
same  Louvois,  who  was  tormenting  Lauzun  almost 
to  the  point  of  insanity,  had  hastened  to  send  him  a 
silver-service,  and  had  asked  him  to  complain  if  his 
guards  were  impolite. 

"M.  de  Saint-Mars,"  wrote  the  Minister,  "  has 
orders  never  to  fail  in  according  the  respect  due  to 
your  birth  and  to  the  position  which  you  have  held 
at  Court  "  (December  12,  1672).  From  like  consid- 
erations, the  birth  of  Lauzun  had  brought  him 
new  furniture,  but  not  a  single  object  of  any  kind 
which  could  aid  him  in  inventing  occupation  or 
employment. 

This  was  the  real  punishment :  a  complete  in- 
action with  not  a  single  echo  from  the  outer  world 
which  might  prevent  his  mind  from  continually  turn- 
ing inward  upon  itself.  Lauzun  only  obtained  a  few 
books  at  long  intervals,  and  always  with  great  dif- 
ficulty, after  every  page  had  been  examined  in 
detail ;  messages  written  in  invisible  ink  were 


324  Louis  XIV.  and 

feared,  and  phrases  which  might  throw  light  upon 
the  events  of  the  day.  When  the  choice  of  litera- 
ture was  left  to  Saint-Mars,  he  confined  himself  to 
Le  Tableau  de  la  Penitence  or  the  Pedagogue  chre1- 
tien.  The  contents  of  these  were  well  known 
and,,  also,  "  they  might  be  useful  to  lighten  his 
despair." 

It  will  be  remembered  that  Mademoiselle  had 
scolded  the  "  little  man"  to  make  him  take  greater 
care  of  his  person  and  toilet.  In  prison,  Lauzun 
had  grown  very  careless.  (April  20,  1672  :)  "  He 
grows  so  negligent  that  for  three  weeks  he  has 
worn  a  handkerchief  knotted  around  his  neck  ia 
place  of  a  cravat."  From  note  of  July  30,  1672, 
more  than  seven  months  after  his  arrival  :  "  He 
has  not  had  his  room  swept,  nor  his  glass  rinsed ; 
he  is  extremely  negligent."  Lauzun  had  permitted 
his  beard  to  grow,  which  contributed  to  his  neg- 
lected appearance.  Saint-Mars  declared  that  it 
was  a  half-yard  long.  (February  n,  1673  :)  "  He 
is  as  disorderly  at  his  meals  as  in  his  person  and 
in  his  apartment." 

Years  passed.  In  1673,  they  pruned  the  trees 
which  cut  off  the  light.  This  was  the  only  change. 
In  1674,  the  prisoner  almost  died.  His  health 
was  shattered  and  his  temper  changed.  He  be- 
came tranquil,  except  for  an  occasional  access  of 
anger,  and  was  very  polite  to  his  jailer,  who  at- 
tributed this  metamorphosis  to  the  effects  of  the 
books  of  piety  and  the  holy  water  freely  supplied. 
Saint-Mars  found  him  "  very  often  "  on  his  knees, 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  325 

saying  his  prayers  before  an  image  of  the  Virgin, 
and  had  much  joy  in  the  change. 

In  1676,  in  the  month  of  February,  Louvois  re- 
ceived a  letter,1  the  contents  of  which  passed  through 
Paris  like  a  flash  of  lightning.  M.  de  Lauzun  had 
almost  succeeded  in  effecting  his  escape  ;  and 
neither  by  door  nor  window,  the  ordinary  method 
in  romances.  He  had  made  a  hole  in  the  dungeon 
of  Pignerol  by  scratching  with  old  knives,  pieces  of 
kitchen  utensils,  etc.,  and  had  succeeded  in  piercing 
the  thick  vault  below  his  chamber.  Lauzun  rolled 
through  this  opening,  and  found  himself  between 
four  walls,  before  a  barred  window.  He  began 
again  to  scrape ;  he  demolished  one  of  the  corners 
of  the  window,  unfastened  one  of  the  bars,  and 
saw  that  he  was  several  fathoms  above  the  ground. 
His  foresight  had  caused  him  to  collect  a  quantity 
of  napkins,  from  which  he  made  a  rope  ladder ; 
"the  best  made  in  the  world, "wrote  Mademoiselle, 
with  admiration  for  the  sample  sent  to  Louvois. 

He  descended  by  this  ladder  to  the  moat  sur- 
rounding the  fortress/'  pierced  the  wall  on  the  side  of 
the  moat,"  2  encountered  a  rock,  and  recommenced 
at  a  short  distance  from  the  place  of  the  first  at- 
tempt "  ;  the  new  passage  led  into  a  court  of  the 
citadel.  Lauzun  reached  the  ground  one  morning 
at  daybreak.  He  had  passed  three  days  in  scrap- 
ing ;  it  was  this  occupation  which  had  kept  him 
tranquil.  Only  an  open  door,  and  he  would  have 

1  This  letter  has  been  lost  or  destroyed. 

2  Louvois  to  Saint-Mars,  March  2,  1676. 


326  Louis  XIV.  and 

been  saved.  He  would  well  have  deserved  success 
as  a  reward  for  his  industry  and  patience.  But  all 
was  firmly  closed,  and  he  was  stopped  by  an  incor- 
ruptible sentinel. 

The  poor  prisoner  was  brought  back  to  his 
dungeon,  and  Louvois  stormed  at  the  authorities 
of  Pignerol,  who  permitted  walls  and  windows  to 
be  demolished  without  perceiving  that  anything 
strange  was  occurring.  Repairs  and  numerous 
new  measures  of  precaution  were  ordered,  and 
Saint-Mars,  very  much  abashed,  swore  by  all  the 
gods  that  such  a  thing  should  never  again  happen. 

In  spite  of  these  oaths,  many  of  the  prisoners 
succeeded  in  gaining  access  to  their  neighbours, 
according  to  the  account  of  Saint-Simon.1  It  seems 
that  the  open  chimneys  of  ancient  times  had  be- 
come an  ordinary  means  of  communication  between 
the  dungeons  of  Pignerol.  "  A  hole  was  made  in 
the  pipe,  which  was  carefully  closed  during  the 
day,"  and  with  mutual  aid  the  prisoners  ascended 
and  descended.  Lauzun  was  placed  in  relation 
with  various  prisoners,  of  whom  one  was  Foucquet, 
who  believed  him  to  be  mad  when  listening  to  his 
account  of  the  failure  of  the  plan  of  marriage  with 
the  Grande  Mademoiselle.  These  gentlemen  must 
have  resembled  chimney  sweeps. 

Saint-Mars,  however,  only  knew  of  these  practices 
after  the  death  of  Foucquet ;  the  troubles  of  Lauzun 

1  The  letter  from  Saint-Mars  (March  23,  1680)  giving  an  account  of  the 
communications  between  the  dungeons  has  never  been  found,  any  more 
than  that  telling  of  the  flight  of  Lauzun. 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  327 

were  then  at  an  end.  The  death  of  the  eldest 
brother,  which  occurred  in  1677,  had  brought  new 
conditions.  Lauzun  became  head  of  the  family. 
His  sister,  Mme.  de  Nogent,  represented  to  the 
King  that  it  was  needful  for  the  preservation  of 
the  "  House  "  that  M.  de  Lauzun  should  be  per- 
mitted to  put  his  affairs  in  order,  and  she  had 
no  difficulty  in  obtaining  a  hearing.  Although  the 
individual  counted  for  little,  the  "  House  "  was  a 
thing  sacred,  even  in  the  eyes  of  Louis  XIV. 
Saint-Mars  was  ordered  to  receive  Mme.  de  No- 
gent, another  of  the  brothers,  Chevalier  de  Lauzun, 
and  their  advocate,  M.  Isarn,  and  to  permit  them 
to  meet  with  his  prisoner,  exacting  the  promise  that 
only  business  should  be  discussed.  He  forbade 
a  single  word,  "  under  any  pretext  whatever,"  of 
Mile,  de  Montpensier.  An  account  of  these  inter- 
views, sketched  by  Isarn,  remains.  It  must  not  be 
forgotten  in  reading  this  document  that  Lauzun 
had  a  great  interest  in  inspiring  a  lively  pity  in  the 
hearts  of  these  people  who  were  returning  to  Paris. 
After  long  preliminaries,  Isarn  arrived  for  the  first 
interview  with  Lauzun,  whom  no  one  had  seen  for 
six  years. 

[October  29,  1667]  Two  o'clock  having  come,  M.  de  Saint- 
Mars,  after  sending  away  all  the  attendants,  asked  M.  Isarn 
to  enter  his  room  where  six  chairs  were  arranged  around 
a  table,  and  M.  de  Saint-Mars  retiring,  returned  after  a  mo- 
ment leading  M.  le  Comte  de  Lauzun,  supporting  him  by  the 
arm,  for  the  Comte  could  hardly  sustain  himself,  it  may  be  on 
account  of  the  open  air,  the  bright  light,  or  the  weakness  caused 
by  his  illness. 


328  Louis  XIV.  and 

At  this  sight,  I  confess,  Monsieur,  -that  we  were  moved 
with  pity,  for  we  remarked  his  haggard  face  and  the  extreme 
pallor  of  the  countenance,  as  much  as  could  be  seen  under 
the  long  beard  and  moustaches,  the  eyes  subdued  with  sadness 
and  languor,  so  that  it  would  be  impossible  not  to  be  moved 
with  compassion.  I  can  hardly  express  the  grief  of  Madame 
his  sister  and  Monsieur  his  brother.  A  chair  near  the  fire 
was  given  to  him,  facing  the  window,  but  he  shrank  back,  say- 
ing in  a  low  voice,  and  coughing,  that  the  bright  light  made 
his  eyes  and  head  burn.  M.  de  Saint-Mars  turned  his  prisoner 
away  from  the  window,  placing  himself  on  one  side  and  M. 
the  Commissioner  on  the  other.  I  was  at  the  side  of  M.  de 
Saint-Mars,  having  my  papers  before  me  on  the  table.  Mme. 
de  Nogent  could  not  restrain  her  tears,  and  we  remained  some 
time  without  speaking. 

When  they  were  all  somewhat  composed,  Isarn 
entered  into  a  summary  of  the  affairs  to  be  regu- 
lated. At  the  first  pause,  Lauzun  interrupted. 
11  He  said  coldly,  that  having  been  kept  for  six 
years  and  a  portion  of  a  seventh  in  a  very  restricted 
prison,  and  not  having  heard  any  business  details 
for  so  long  a  time,  and  having  met  no  one,  his  mind 
had  become  so  '  sealed,'  and  his  intelligence  so 
clouded,  that  it  was  impossible  for  him  to  compre- 
hend anything  I  was  saying."  He  added  affection- 
ate words  for  his  sister,  touching  sentiments  upon 
his  grief  at  having  displeased  the  King,  and,  as  if 
overcome  by  the  remembrance  of  his  much-loved 
master,  he  carried  his  handkerchief  to  his  eyes, 
"where  it  remained  a  long  time." 

This  spectacle  provoked  such  an  outburst  of 
tears  and  groans  that  it  was  impossible  to  continue 
the  conference.  Lauzun  "  withdrew  with  Saint- 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  329 

Mars  without  speaking."  The  sister  was  carried 
away  in  a  dead  faint.  The  Chevalier  de  Lauzun, 
ill  with  emotion,  retired  for  the  night,  and  Isarn 
shared  in  the  general  affliction.  At  the  following 
sessions,  Lauzun  repeated  that  he  comprehended 
nothing  that  his  advocate  said,  but  he  gave  him  at 
the  same  time  some  instructions,  "  with  much  judg- 
ment and  clearness."  Touching  scenes  followed. 
One  day,  after  having  obtained  permission,  the  pris- 
oner asked  if  his  mother  were  living,  and  there 
was,  in  this  case,  no  need  of  pretence  to  make  the 
scene  impressive.  At  the  last  interview,  he  charged 
his  sister  to  implore  the  pity  of  the  King  and  the 
pardon  of  Louvois,  in  humble  and  submissive  terms, 
which  showed  a  man  conquered,  crushed,  and  hence- 
forth inoffensive. 

It  may  be  through  compassion,  it  may  be,  as 
was  hinted,  through  some  new  and  mysterious 
combination,  that  this  appeal  produced  a  relaxation 
in  the  prison  discipline,  which  ended  in  a  half- 
freedom.  Lauzon  was  permitted  to  give  dinners, 
to  buy  saddle  horses,  "  to  ride  in  the  court  and  on 
the  bastions." 1  At  length  arrived  a  detachment  of 
musketeers,  charged  to  conduct  him  to  the  baths 
of  Bourbon,  under  pretext  that  he  was  suffering 
with  one  of  his  arms. 

He  quitted  Pignerol  April  22,  1681.  Foucquet 
had  died  March  23,  1680.  This  left  to  Saint-Mars 
only  a  single  man  of  note ;  the  Man  with  the  Iron 
Mask  had  been  in  the  fortress  some  time  at  this  date. 

1  Louvois  to  Saint-Mars,  Novevember  28,  1679. 


330  Louis  XIV.  and 

Robinson  Crusoe,  leaving  his  island,  was  not 
more  of  a  stranger  to  the  course  of  events  than  a 
state  prisoner  after  years  of  life  in  a  dungeon. 
Foucquet  had  believed  in  listening  to  Lauzun  that 
he  was  mentally  deranged.  When  it  was  the  fate 
of  the  latter  to  again  come  in  contact  with  ordinary 
life,  he  found  much  difficulty  in  placing  himself 
in  the  current.  The  history  of  France  had  been 
lengthened  by  a  chapter  while  he  was  raging  in  his 
dungeon.  The  intimate  story  of  Court  life,  the 
most  important  for  an  ancient  favourite  desirous 
of  regaining  a  foothold,  would  have  filled  a  volume 
with  its  tragi-comic  complications.  At  first  glance, 
the  chapter  of  national  history  was  dazzling.  The 
war  with  Holland  had  given  to  France,  Franche- 
Comte  ;  to  Louis  XIV.,  a  glory  and  power  which 
had  raised  him  in  European  opinion  above  all  other 
sovereigns. 

In  the  eyes  of  strangers,  he  was  more  than  a 
king,  he  was  the  King,  the  incarnation  of  the  mon- 
archical idea,  the  Prince  who  had  made  France  the 
mistress  of  the  civilised  world. 

Never,  in  modern  Europe  [says  a  German  historian  1  who 
always  considers  the  interests  of  France  as  opposed  to  those 
of  Germany]  has  there  been  a  development  of  military  power 
over  land  and  sea,  for  attack  and  defence,  so  extraordinary  as 
that  to  which  France  had  attained  during  the  war,  and  pre- 
served during  the  ensuing  peace;  never  before  had  a  single 
will  exercised  so  extended  a  command  over  troops  so  well 
trained  and  yet  so  submissive. 

1  Leopold  von  Ranke,  Histoire  de  France. 


eo 

S  g 

<  £ 
0  X 

Q  -a 

<  2 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  331 

France  was  admired  and  feared.  "  Louis  XIV.," 
says  Ranke  again,  "  reduced  several  of  the  Ger- 
man princes  individually,  and  the  Empire  at  large, 
to  a  degree  of  abasement  to  which  they  had  not 
fallen  during  centuries."  Spain  itself  was  men- 
aced with  the  loss  of  its  independence.  Europe 
recognised  that  in  "  the  history  of  the  world  there 
were  few  periods  in  which  civilisation  had  so 
rapidly  advanced  and  literature  was  so  brilliant  as 
that  under  Louis  XIV." 

Such  was  France  viewed  from  without,  during 
the  years  which  separated  the  peace  of  Nimeguen 
(1679)  from  the  Revocation  of  the  Edict  of  Nantes 
(1685).  This  brilliant  picture  showed,  however, 
some  shadows ;  the  vanquished  guarded  a  deep 
resentment,  and  the  former  allies  were  detached 
without  always  being  replaced  by  new  ones ;  but 
the  country  considered  itself  sufficiently  strong  to 
support  its  isolation. 

Seen  from  within,  France  presented  to  the  super- 
ficial observer  an  appearance  of  prosperity.  Upon 
a  closer  examination,  however,  it  could  be  pre- 
dicted that  the  lean  years  were  approaching.  Many 
provinces  had  fallen  back  into  misery.  There  was 
a  general  discontent,  the  disaffection  made  rapid 
progress ;  the  idea  of  centralised  and  absolute 
power,  so  well  received  at  first,  was  beginning  to 
pall  upon  the  community.  Four  years  after  the 
death  of  Mazarin  and  the  arrival  to  power  of  Louis 
XIV.  keen-sighted  men  became  anxious. 

Olivier  d'Ormesson,  like    all   the  world  at  first 


332  Louis  XIV.  and 

under  the  influence  of  the  charm  of  the  young 
King,  wrote  in  1665  (March)  :  "  No  one  dares  pro- 
test, although  all  suffer  and  have  their  hearts  filled 
with  despair ;  every  one  says  that  it  is  impossible 
for  this  state  of  things  to  last,  the  conduct  of  affairs 
being  too  unjust  and  violent." 1  Olivier  d'Ormes- 
son  had  personal  griefs.  He  had  been  disgraced 
for  having  shown  himself  too  independent  at  the 
time  of  the  prosecution  of  Foucquet,  and  he  was 
also  one  of  those  old  politicians,  liberal  after  their 
own  fashion,  who  held  firmly  to  the  privileges  be- 
longing to  their  class,  and  who  were  not  accus- 
tomed to  see  criticisms  of  the  King  punished  more 
severely  than  blasphemies  against  the  Deity.  In 
1668,  a  poor  old  man  from  Saint-Germain  was  ac- 
cused "  of  having  said  that  the  King  was  a  tyrant, 
and  that  there  still  existed  some  Ravaillacs  and 
people  of  courage  and  virtue."  He  was  con- 
demned to  have  his  tongue  cut  out  and  to  be  sent  to 
the  galleys.  "It  is  said,"  adds  Ormesson,  "that 
cutting  out  the  tongue  is  a  new  punishment,  and 
that  it  was  formerly  the  custom  simply  to  pierce 
the  tongue  of  blasphemers."  From  the  point  of 
view  of  the  times,  the  opinion  of  D'Ormesson  is  a 
little  too  advanced. 

But  the  same  criticism  cannot  be  made  of  Col- 
bert, then  enjoying  great  favour  and  naturally  a 
man  of  severity.  In  1666  Colbert  warned  Louis 
XIV.,  in  an  almost  brutal  memorial,  that  through 
his  extravagances  he  was  leading  France  to  ruin. 

1  Journal  d*  Olivier  Lefevre  d'Orniesson. 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  333 

The  memorial  commenced  by  declaring  that  he 
(Colbert)  did  not  wish  stinginess  where  it  was  a 
matter  concerning  a  good  army  or  fleet,  or  in  sus- 
taining the  suitable  magnificence  of  his  master  in 
foreign  lands,  or  in  any  useful  expenditures,  among 
which  he  included  the  proper  representation  of  a 
great  sovereign.  He  affirmed  that  in  all  these 
matters  he  would  rather  urge  a  certain  lavishness, 
and  this  was  the  truth.  But  he  could  not  share  in 
the  responsibility  for  the  enormous  leakage  by 
which  the  public  wealth  was  being  exhausted,  for 
the  millions  squandered  in  fantastic  camps,  in  fetes 
costing  incredible  sums,1  and  in  insane  gambling 
debts.2 

The  memorial  mentions  also  pensions  and  other 
gratifications  given  out  freely,  and  makes  other 
specifications,  of  which  one  merits  some  details,  for 
it  is  curious,  but  rarely  referred  to,  and  according  to 
Colbert  led  to  the  most  dangerous  consequences. 
As  will  be  understood,  nothing  other  than  actual 
war  cost  France  so  dearly  under  Louis  XIV.,  as  the 
monarch's  passion  for  playing  at  soldier  in  the 
presence  of  beautiful  ladies.  This  mania  at  first 

1  Two  years  after  this  warning  Louis  XIV.  gave  at  Versailles,  in  honour  of 
Mme.  de  Montespan,  a  fete  for  which  special  buildings  were  created.     The 
ballroom,  only  used  one  night,  was   marble   and  porphyry ;    the  rest  in 
accordance. 

2  A  loss  of  more  than  100,000  crowns  was  not  rare  at  the  gaming  table  of 
the  King.     March  6,  1670,  Mme.  de  Montespan  lost  400,000  pistoles  in 
one  night ;  at  eight  in  the  morning  she  regained  500,000.     The  pistole  is 
worth  about  ten  francs.     In  1682,  three  years  after  her  disgrace,  she  lost 
at  one  time  700,000  crowns  which  she  did  not  regain.     The  King  paid  her 
debts. 


334  Louis  XIV.  and 

glance  appears  innocent  enough,  only  rather 
childish. 

Colbert  pointed  out  the  inevitable  effects.  The 
King  assembled  armies  to  afford  to  the  "ladies" 
the  spectacle  of  a  camp  or  the  simulation  of  a  siege, 
or  the  troops  were  reviewed  in  places  agreeable  for 
women,  instead  of  awaiting  him  in  their  barracks. 

The  result  was,  that  the  perpetual  marching  of 
troops  to  and  fro  was  causing  the  exhaustion  of  the 
provinces,  for  "  it  is  sufficient  to  say  that  such  a 
city  or  halting-place  has  suffered  within  six  months 
a  hundred  different  impositions  of  troops,  and  that 
there  are  but  few  places  which  have  not  been  obliged 
to  stand  at  least  fifty." 

The  troops  lived  as  they  liked,  entering  and  de- 
parting from  their  various  lodging-places.  "It  can 
be  affirmed  distinctly  that  these  places  were  left 
in  a  condition  to  which  they  would  have  been 
brought  by  a  long  war."  If  the  King  knew  "  how 
many  peasants  of  Champagne,  and  the  other  pro- 
vinces lying  near  the  frontier,  are  passing  and  ar- 
ranging to  pass  to  other  countries,"  he  would 
comprehend  that  this  state  of  affairs  could  not  last. 

The  most  delicate  reproof  was  yet  to  be  made, 
and  Colbert  approached  it  courageously.  Serious 
ridicule  had  fallen  upon  the  great  monarch  for 
these  fantastic  games  for  the  benefit  of  his  "ladies" 
not  only  with  the  French,  but  also  among  foreign- 
ers only  too  ready  to  seize  an  occasion  for  un- 
friendly comment. 

Louis  had  just  installed  a  camp  at  Moret,  motley 


^      <u 

£    2 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  335 

and  smart,  with  pretty  tents  for  the  Amazons.  "  It 
is  said,"  wrote  D'Ormesson,  "that  the  siege  of 
Moret  will  be  made  in  due  form,  in  order  to  show 
the  'ladies'  the  method  of  taking  places  by  assault. 
People  in  general,  disgusted  and  annoyed,  treat 
this  review  as  childish  trifling  for  a  King,  and  it  is 
badly  thought  of  in  foreign  countries." 

Olivier  d'Ormesson  did  not  display  great  merit 
in  writing  his  comments  in -  his  journal  for  his 
eyes  alone,  but  Colbert  wrote  for  the  King  and  had 
still  many  criticisms  to  add. 

"It  is  further  advisable  for  your  Majesty  to  know 
two  things  which  no  one  has  before  dared  to  report : 
one  that  there  has  been  a  poster  in  Paris,  bearing 
the  words  Louis  XIV.  will  give  an  exhibition  of 
Marionettes  in  the  plain  at  Moret ;  the  other, 
the  publication  of  a  libel,  still  more  bitter,  upon  the 
distinguished  deeds  of  the  fantastic  captains."  The 
King  read  the  memorial  and  reread  it  in  the  pres- 
ence of  Colbert,  but  the  following  year  saw  a  new 
camp,  in  which  the  royal  tent,  composed  of  six 
sumptuous  rooms,  "was  filled  with  cavaliers  gor- 
geously attired,  and  better  fitted  to  attract  the 
enemy  than  to  make  him  flee."  1  Colbert  did  not 
succeed,  even  in  time  of  war,  in  preventing  a 
single  trip  to  the  frontier  with  a  long  train  of 
women  in  rare  apparel,  and  mistresses  for  whose 
accommodation  it  was  necessary  to  put  masons  at 
work  at  every  halting-place. 

1  Letter  of  Mme.  de  Chatrier,  attached  to  the  House  of  Conde ;  De  La 
Vallttre  it  Montespan,  by  Jean  Lemoine  and  Andre  Lichtenberger. 


336  Louis  XIV.  and 

From  Louvois,  March  7,  1671  : 

"  Arrange  chamber  marked  V  for  Mme.  de 
Montespan,  opening  a  door  in  the  place  marked 
i.  ...  Mme.  de  La  Valliere  will  lodge  in  the 
chamber  marked  Y,  in  which  a  door  must  be  made 
in  the  place  marked  3N.  .  .  ."  The  expense 
of  the  numerous  doors,  with  many  others  equally 
irregular,  entered  into  the  budget  of  the  Minister 
of  War. 

How  was  it  possible  to  keep  the  budget  ac- 
counts ?  How  reduce  unnecessary  expenses  ?  Col- 
bert himself  was  obliged  in  his  budget  of  the 
Marine  to  give  space  to  the  "ladies"  In  1678, 
Mme.  de  Montespan  conceived  the  fantasy  of  fitting 
out  a  privateer,  a  vessel  belonging  to  the  King,  be 
it  understood,  manned  with  the  royal  sailors.  Some 
weeks  later,  a  second  and  third  vessel  were  sent  out 
in  the  same  manner  as  privateers,  always  at  the 
King's  expense,  "  by  Mme.  de  Montespan  and  the 
Comtesse  de  Soissons."  Including  everything, 
the  taste  of  Louis  XIV.  for  conversation  and  the 
society  of  women,  without  mentioning  the  rest  of 
his  follies,  probably  cost  France  more  than  all  the 
buildings  erected  by  the  Grand  Monarch,  but  the 
one  outlay  can  be  calculated,  and  the  other  not. 

The  large  expenses  of  Versailles  and  of  Marly  are 
often  alluded  to,  while  the  unfortunate  peasants, 
who  fled  across  the  frontier  after  every  military 
spectacle  offered  to  the  "  ladies"  are  forgotten. 
Louis  XIV.  was  incapable  of  keeping  accounts  ; 

1  Letter  from  Colbert  to  the  Intendant  de  Rochefort  (April  16,  1678). 


I  ^ 
o  ^ 
cc  o 


2    .5 

*    1 

UJ        C 
Q        tUO 

»g 

QJ       CL, 
I      ^ 

Q      be 

c 

B 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  337 

that  is  his  sole  excuse.  It  is  strange,  however,  that 
a  man  so  methodical,  having  a  mind  so  steady,  so 
well  regulated,  had  never  been  able  to  comprehend 
that  figures  are  figures,  and  that  no  one  is  able  to 
make  two  crowns  out  of  one.  Colbert  never  suc- 
ceeded in  controlling  the  waste  of  his  master,  even 
in  cases  when  the  added  profusion  in  no  way  in- 
creased the  pleasure,  and  appears  to  us  as  a  mere 
barbarous  lavishness. 

It  is  known  that  in  the  seventeenth  century  the 
repasts  were  abundant.  Those  of  Louis  XIV.  were 
excessively  so.  I n  1 664,  the  King,  having  invited  the 
Pope's  legate  to  dine  with  him  t$te-&-t$te,  those  in  at- 
tendance counted  the  dishes  ;  there  were  eighty, 
not  including  thirty-eight  for  dessert.  This  was 
certainly  excessive,  and  Colbert  had  said  in  the  Me- 
morial of  1660,  "  I  declare  to  your  Majesty  .  .  . 
that  a  useless  meal,  costing  a  thousand  crowns, 
gives  me  an  incredible  pain." 

But  the  lavishness  of  fifteen  years  later  was  far 
greater.  On  January  16,  1680,  the  King  married 
Mile,  de  Blois,  his  daughter  by  La  Valliere,  to 
Prince  Louis-Armand  de  Conti,  nephew  of  the 
great  Conde*.  "  The  wedding  festival  was  royal," 
wrote  Bussy-Rabutin  ;  "  there  were  seven  hundred 
dishes  on  a  single  table,  served  in  five  courses,  that 
is  to  say,  one  hundred  and  forty  dishes  to  each 
course."  Mme.  de  Sevigne  points  the  moral.  "  The 
young  husband  was  ill  the  entire  night.  It  would 
be  a  temptation  to  say  '  Well  deserved  ! ' ' 

If,  from  the  incensed  and  suffering  people,  the 


338  Louis  XIV.  and 

attention  is  turned  towards  the  Court,  the  differ- 
ence between  without  and  within  is  perhaps  as 
clearly  marked,  although  more  difficult  to  define. 
Without,  there  is  splendour,  adulations  given  and 
received  ;  within,  a  profound  moral  misery  ;  with 
some,  debauch  and  poverty ;  with  others,  dis- 
couragement and  bitterness.  Mme.  de  Sevigne,  in  a 
letter  of  1680,  has  unconsciously  painted,  in  six 
lines,  the  state  of  degradation  to  which  the  King 
had  systematically  reduced  the  nobility  of  France, 
lined  up,  as  it  were,  to  catch  purses  thrown  to  them 
January  12:  "  The  King  is  enormously  liberal  in 
truth  ;  it  is  not  needful  to  despair  ;  one  may  not  be 
a  valet,  but  in  making  one's  court,  something  may 
fall  upon  one's  head.  What  is  certain  is  that  far 
from  him  [the  King],  all  seems  valueless ;  for- 
merly it  was  otherwise." 

If  souls  were  debased  under  Louis,  he  must  be  held 
in  large  part  responsible.  The  same  can  be  said  in 
regard  to  the  deterioration  of  manners  and  morals. 
France,  before  the  time  of  Louis  XIV.,  was  accus- 
tomed enough  to  both  mistresses  and  bastards,  but 
not  to  the  prerogatives  of  second  wives  conferred 
on  the  first,  nor  the  legitimatising  of  adulteries 
which  encouraged  his  subjects  to  consider  no  longer 
seriously  either  law  or  morality.  The  example  of 
the  master  ended  in  deadening  consciences  already 
somewhat  feeble,  and  husbands  might  be  seen  en- 
couraging their  wives,  the  mothers  of  their  daugh- 
ters, to  imitate  La  Valliere  and  de  Montespan. 

Louis  had  been   in  some  degree  punished  for 


LOUISE  DE  LA  VALLIERE,  IN  THE  GARB  OF  THE  ORDER  OF  THE  CARMELITES 
After  the  painting  by  D.  Plaats 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  339 

having  played  sultan.  Polygamy  cannot  exist  with- 
out some  discomfort,  in  a  land  in  which  women 
have  any  position.  Few  men,  even  upon  the  stage, 
have  had  so  many  quarrels  with  their  mistresses, 
quarrels  often  violent,  humiliating,  as  well  as  pain- 
ful, as  this  majestic  monarch,  before  whom  the 
universe  trembled.  Royalty  does  not  exist  before 
a  jealous  mistress,  and  Louis  XIV.  was  faithful 
only  to  one,  Mine,  de  Maintenon. 

The  young  King  had  been  spoiled  by  Louise  de 
La  Valliere,  who  was  gentleness  itself,  and  whom 
love  inclined  to  pardon  all.  None  of  the  other 
mistresses  really  loved  Louis,  except  perhaps  Marie 
Mancini.  Louis  did  not  really  please  women ;  it 
was  only  the  King  for  whose  favour  they  disputed. 

Mile,  de  La  Valliere  had  entered  the  Carmelite 
convent  in  1674.  Left  alone  upon  the  "  breach," 
Mme.  de  Montespan  defended  the  situation  like  a 
lioness.  She  was  naturally  sharp-tempered,  and 
her  fits  of  anger  were  often  ungovernable,1  as  wit- 
nesses say,  and  Louis  did  not  possess  the  force 
which  innocence  alone  gives.  Among  the  rivals 
who  contended  with  Mme.  de  Montespan,  many, 
in  spite  of  her  efforts,  succeeded  in  enjoying  their 
year,  or  at  least  their  day.  When  she  became  en- 
raged, and  the  King  was  forced  to  bend  his  neck 
under  the  tempest,  "she  often  scolded  him  and  he 
did  not  assert  himself."2  This  was  his  method 
of  expiation.  The  ephemeral  reign  of  Mile,  de 


1  Memoires  de  la  Fare. 

2  Me'moires  de  Mile,  de  Montpensier. 


34°  Louis  XIV.  and 

Fontanges  came.  She  also  was  passionate,  and 
she  treated  the  King  with  "  more  authority  than  the 
others."1  Louis  called  Mme.  de  Maintenon  to  his 
aid,  and  charged  her  to  appease  these  furies. 
Stormy  scenes  began  to  weary  him. 

It  had  been  remarked  since  1675  that  Louis 
aspired  to  moments  of  "repose  and  of  liberty." 
Mme.  de  Montespan,  with  all  her  intelligence, 
could  not  comprehend  that  there  comes  a  time  of 
life  at  which  men  can  no  longer  live  in  the  midst 
of  tempests,  and  this  error  was  the  cause  of  her 
ruin. 

The  King  acquired  the  habit  of  fleeing  for  refuge 
to  Mme.  de  Maintenon,  where  he  found  an  atmos- 
phere of  peace  and  enjoyed  refreshing  conversation. 

It  was  the  first  time  that  an  intelligent  woman 
had  spoken  seriously  to  him,  without  seeking  to 
attract  a  declaration  of  love,  nor  to  divert  him  with 
trifles,  but  to  distract  him  agreeably  from  his  work, 
and  also  to  make  him  reflect  upon  certain  subjects 
which  did  not  always  appeal  to  him.  For  example, 
what  the  sinner  who  had  taken  the  wife  of  another 
might  expect  in  the  next  world.  She  recalled  to 
him  the  fact  that  there  was  a  police  in  heaven  as  in 
the  palaces  of  the  King  of  France,  and  she  asked 
him  :  "  What  would  you  say  if  some  one  should 
tell  your  Majesty  that  one  of  the  musketeers  you 
love  had  seduced  a  married  woman,  and  that  this 
woman  was  actually  living  with  him  ?  I  am  certain 
that  before  evening  this  man  would  depart  from 

1  Mtmoires  de  I'Abbtfde  Choisy. 


MADAME  DE    MAINTENON 
After  the  painting  by  P.  Mignard  in  1694 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  341 

the  palace,  never  to  return,  however  late  it  might 
might  be."1 

The  King  laughed.  He  had  never  been  more 
in  love  with  Mme.  de  Montespan, — this  happened 
in  1675,  before  the  Jubilee,  which  separated  them 
three  or  four  months, — but  he  was  not  vexed  with 
Mme.  de  Maintenon  ;  already  he  "  could  not  live 
without  her." 2  One  may  or  may  not  feel  sympathy 
with  this  last,  but  it  is  certain  that  without  her, 
without  the  empire  that  she  knew  how  to  gain  over 
a  prince  ardent  for  pleasure,  but  by  no  means  a 
veritable  libertine,  Louis  XIV.  might  have  ended 
shamefully.  To  every  one  their  deserts.  The 
Queen  Marie-Therese  was  right  in  according  her 
friendship  to  Mme.  de  Maintenon,  who  secured  for 
her,  somewhat  late  it  is  true,  a  certain  consideration 
and  some  affectionate  demonstration  to  which  the 
poor  Queen  was  not  accustomed. 

When  the  King  had  passed  forty,  tranquillity 
became  a  need.  He  believed  he  had  assured  it  by 
giving  to  Mme.  de  Montespan  her  official  dismissal 
as  the  recognised  mistress.  The  date  of  this  event 
is  known.  March  29,  1679,  tne  Comtesse  de  Sois- 
sons  was  prayed  to  yield  to  the  ancient  favourite 
her  charge  as  superintendent  of  the  palace  of  the 
Queen,  a  position  which  afforded  a  kind  of  regu- 
lated retreat.  The  next  day,  Mme.  de  Montespan 
wrote  to  the  Due  de  Noailles  to  announce  to  him 
this  arrangement,  and  she  added  :  "  Truly  this  is 

1  Souvenirs  sur  Mme.  de  Maintenon.— Les  Cahiers  de  Mile.  d'Aumale, 
with  an  introduction  by  M.  G.  Hanotaux.  8  Ibid. 


342  Louis  XIV.  and 

very  bearable.  The  King  only  comes  into  my  room 
after  mass  and  after  supper.  It  is  much  better 
to  see  each  other  rarely  with  pleasure  than  often 
with  boredom."  The  world  was  not  deceived  : 
"  I  really  believe,"  wrote  Bussy  (April  i  ith),  "  that 
the  King,  just  as  he  is,  has  given  this  position  for 
past  favours." 

From  Mme.  de  Scudery  to  Bussy,  October  29, 
1679  :  "  A  diversion  has  been  established  for  Mme. 
de  Montespan  for  this  winter,  and  provided  that 
she  can  do  without  love,  she  will  retain  the  consid- 
eration of  the  King.  This  is  all  that  an  honest 
man  can  do  when  he  ceases  to  love."  Bussy  re- 
sponded, November  4th  :  4<  If  Mme.  de  Montespan 
is  wise  she  will  dream  only  of  cards  and  will  leave 
the  King  in  peace  on  the  subject  of  love  ;  for  it  is 
impossible  through  complaints  and  scoldings  to  lure 
back  unfaithful  lovers." 

Mme.  de  Montespan  was  not  wise.  In  the 
hope  of  bringing  the  King  back  to  her  arms  by 
force,  she  redoubled  the  disagreeable  scenes.  At 
this  moment,  an  obscure  past,  filled  with  vague 
and  frightful  events,  rose  against  her,  and  the  expi- 
ation for  having  too  much  loved  became  almost 
tragic  in  its  character. 

La  Voisin,  the  poisoner,  cannot  be  forgotten,  nor 
the  prosecution  in  1668,  which  had  revealed  to 
the  young  King  the  connection  of  his  new  mis- 
tress with  the  world  of  malefactors.  This  affair 
was  stifled,  but  the  evil  continued  in  its  subter- 
ranean influence.  The  merchants  of  love  philters 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  343 

and  of  poisons  and  the  priests  of  satanic  rites  saw 
their  clients  increasing  in  number  year  by  year. 
When  the  crimes  finally  came  to  the  surface,  and 
Louis  established  (March  7,  1679)  tne  "  Chambre 
ardente"  to  purify  France  from  the  gangrene,  so 
many  Parisians  were  connected  in  one  way  or  an- 
other with  the  accused  that  the  King  had  against 
him  a  powerful  current  of  opinion.  This  is,  per- 
haps, the  most  significant  feature  of  the  sad  affair. 
Instead  of  being  crushed  with  shame  in  learning 
how  many  were  compromised,  the  higher  classes 
were  indignant  against  the  equal  justice  which  re- 
fused to  give  them  special  consideration.  They 
murmured  loudly,  and  for  once  the  people  were 
with  them,  for  the  populace  remained  staunch  to 
the  sorcerers.  The  clamours  were  so  menacing 
that  the  judges  of  the  "  Chambre  ardente "  felt 
themselves  in  danger  :  "  I  know,"  wrote  Bussy-Ra- 
butin  on  April  ist,  "the  chamber  instituted  to 
examine  the  '  corrupters,'  and  also  know  that  Mes- 
sieurs de  Bezons  and  de  La  Reynie  do  not  pass 
from  Paris  to  Vincennes  without  an  escort  of  the 
King's  Guards." 1  Louis  XIV.  was  obliged  several 
times  to  strengthen  the  resolution  of  these  judges  ; 
sometimes  in  openly  commanding  them  to  "  judge 
truly  " 2  without  any  distinction  of  person,  condition, 

1  Letter  to  the  Marquis  de  Tri chateau. 

2  Note  by  La  Reynie  (December  27,  1679).    The  documents  of  the  Affaire 
des  poisons  form  more  than  1300  pages  of  the  Archives  de  la  Bastille \  and 
they   are  not   complete.      Certain    especial  depositions,  particularly  com- 
promising for  Mme.  de  Montespan,  are  lacking,  and  were  probably  burned 
by  order  of  Louis  XIV. 


344  Louis  XIV.  and 

or  sex ;  sometimes  by  assuring  them  through 
official  letter  of  his  "  protection."  1 

The  first  executions  before  the  Chambre  ardente 
took  place  in  February,  1679,  and  the  list  of  the 
names  of  those  arrested  or  of  those  to  whom  no- 
tices of  warrants  to  appear  as  witnesses  had  been 
served,  a  list  which  made  so  great  an  excitement 
on  account  of  the  aristocrats  included,2  is  dated 
January  23,  1680.  It  had  been  at  least  four 
months  before,3  that  there  had  come  to  the  ears 
of  the  King,  as  some  one  was  reading  to  him  the 
account  of  the  last  examinations,  two  familiar  names. 
Who  is  Mile,  des  CEillets,  ancient  "  follower "  of 
Mme.  de  Montespan  ?  Who  is  Cato,  her  maid,  and 
what  had  they  to  do  with  La  Voisin  and  with  those 
like  her  ?  These  same  names  again  appearing  in 
the  list  of  January  6,  1680,  the  King,  while  declar- 
ing that  the  witnesses  must  certainly  have  lied,4  or- 
dered the  Procurer-General,  M.  Robert,  "  to  pay 
strict  attention  to  this  particular  case." 

This  was  done,  with  the  result  that  Louis  was 
forced  to  ask  himself  if  the  woman  whom  he  adored 
above  all  others,  and  who  had  borne  him  seven  child- 

1  Louvois  to  Boucherat,  President  of  the  Chambre,  February  4,  1680. 

*  It  included  the  Comtesse  de  Soissons,  the  Marquise  d'Alluye  (the  King 
saved  both),  the  Due  de  Luxembourg  (victim  of  an  error),  the  Vicomtesse 
de  Polignac,  the  Marquis  de  Feuquieres,  the  Princesse  de  Tingry,  the 
Marechale  de  la  Ferte,  the  Duchesse  de  Bouillon,  etc. 

8  Cf.  Archives  de  la  Bastille^  the  "  Note  autographe  "  of  La  Reynie,  dated 
September  17,  1679.  Was  this  the  first  time  that  these  names  had  appeared  ? 
The  destruction  of  portions  of  the  testimony  through  the  orders  of  the  King 
does  not  permit  the  real  truth  to  be  disclosed. 

4  Louvois  to  M.  Robert,  January  15,  1680. 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  345 

ren,  was  a  vile  "  corrupter  "  ;  if  this  perfect  body 
for  which  he  had  risked  the  safety  of  his  soul  had 
taken  part  in  the  ignoble  ceremonies  of  the  infa- 
mous Guibourg  ?  If,  discontented  with  the  thought 
of  sharing  his  favours  with  rivals,  she  might  not  in 
an  access  of  jealousy  have  tried  to  poison  him,  the 
King?  He  sought  the  truth,  but  did  not  find  it. 
In  waiting  further  developments,  Louis  led  his  mis- 
tress with  him  wherever  he  might  go,  and  she  was 
always  making  a  disturbance  of  some  sort.  The 
King  grew  less  patient ;  that  was  the  only  differ- 
ence. 

From  Bussy-Rabutin,  May  18,  1680: 
"  The  King  .  .  .  as  he  was  mounting  into  his 
carriage  with  the  Queen  had  some  rough  words  with 
Mme.  de  Montespan,  about  the  scents  with  which 
she  deluged  herself,  which  made  his  Majesty  ill. 
The  King  at  first  spoke  politely,  but  as  she  re- 
sponded sharply,  his  Majesty  grew  warm."  On  the 
25th,  Mme.  de  Sevigne  noted  another  "  serious  em- 
broilment." This  time  Colbert  succeeded  in  recon- 
ciling them.  The  situation  grew  painful.  A  long 
series  of  letters  and  memoir es  have  been  found  in 
which  La  Reynie  discusses  for  the  King  the  charges 
accumulated  against  Mme.  de  Montespan.  The 
picture  is  given  of  the  doubts  and  fluctuations  of  an 
honest  man  whose  responsibilities  somewhat  rankle 
in  his  breast,  and  who  sees  an  equal  peril  in  dis- 
honouring the  throne  and  in  permitting  a  guilty 
woman  to  remain  near  the  King.  Louis  passed 
through  many  successive  stages  of  conviction 


346  Louis  XIV.  and 

during  the  prosecution.  The  further  the  examina- 
tion proceeded,  the  stronger  became  the  presump- 
tion of  guilt,  without,  however,  bringing  positive 
proofs. 

On  July  12,  1680,  La  Reynie  summed  up  for 
his  master  the  history  of  the  "  petition  to  be  used 
in  poisoning  the  King."  On  October  nth  he  de- 
clared that  he  should  be  ruined  in  the  affair,  and 
supplicated  his  Majesty  to  reflect  whether  it  would 
be  for  the  "  welfare  of  the  State,"  to  make  these 
"  horrors  "  public.  In  the  month  of  May  following, 
he  avowed  that  he  had  erred  on  some  points  and 
that  there  was  more  evil  than  at  first  appeared.  The 
marvellous  control  that  Louis  possessed  over  himself 
prevented  outward  betrayal ;  but  certainly  these  un- 
certainties, these  inferior  conflicts,  and  it  is  to  be 
hoped  some  sense  of  shame  and  remorse,  became 
chastisements  for  his  faults.  On  her  side,  Mme.  de 
Montespan,  in  spite  of  the  secret  of  her  possible 
guilt  being  well  guarded  both  at  Court  and  by  the 
judges  and  police,  could  not  be  ignorant  that  Mile. 
des  CEillets  had  been  interrogated,  confronted  with 
witnesses,  and  imprisoned  for  life  in  the  general  Hos- 
pital at  Tours.1  Mme.  de  Montespan  then  knew  that 
she  had  been  denounced,  but  with  what  proof? 
What  did  the  King  think  ?  What  curious  meetings 
between  these  two  beings  must  have  taken  place. 
What  conversations  during  which  the  King  and  his 
mistress  were  closely  observing  each  other. 

1  She  died  there  September  8,  1686.     Cato  seems  to  have  been  dismissed, 
although  she  had  been  placed  with  Mme.  de  Montespan  by  La  Voisin. 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  347 

Court  life,  nevertheless,  pursued  its  monotonous 
course,  and  Mme.  de  Montespan  continued  to 
figure  in  positions  of  honour.  In  March,  1689,  she 
goes  to  meet  the  Dauphin1  with  the  rest  of  the 
Court,  and  it  is  she  who  has  charge  of  the  choice 
and  arrangement  of  the  wedding  presents,  "  being 
the  woman  in  the  world,"  wrote  Mademoiselle, 
"who  knows  the  best  forms."  In  July,  the  King 
led  her  to  Versailles  with, her  sister,  Mme.  de 
Thianges,  and  her  niece,  the  beautiful  Duchesse  de 
Nevers.  This  lady  the  mother  and  aunt  were  cynic- 
ally offering  to  the  Monarch.2  In  February,  1681, 
"  a  lottery  was  opened  at  Mme.  de  Montespan's,  of 
which  the  largest  prize  was  one  hundred  thousand 
francs,  and  there  were  a  hundred  others  offered  of 
one  hundred  pistoles  each."  In  July,  1682,  the 
Chambre  ardente  was  suddently  suppressed.  Of  the 
three  hundred  accused,  thirty-six  people  of  no  im- 
portance had  been  executed,  one  hundred  sent  to 
the  galleys,  or  to  prisons,  or  convents,  or  exiled  ; 
the  noted  among  them  always  gaining  some  con- 
cessions. The  dungeons  of  Paris  and  Vincennes 
were  crowded.  The  smaller  fry  were  released, 
and  the  remainder  were  scattered,  without  any 
other  trial,  through  the  provincial  prisons,  to 
await  a  death  rarely  slow  in  coming  to  relieve 
their  misery. 

From  Louvois  to  M.  de  Chauvelin,  Intendant, 

1  Marie-Anne-Christine  de  Baviere,  coming  to  marry  the  Grand  Dauphin. 

2  Cf .  Les  souvenirs  de  Mme.  de  Caylus  and — among  others — the  letter  of 
Mme.  de  Sevigne  dated  July  17,  1680. 


348  Louis  XIV.  and 

December  16,  1682,  announcing  the  arrival  of  one 
of  these  convoys : 

Above  all,  please  take  care  to  prevent  any  of  these  gentle- 
men from  proclaiming  aloud,  a  thing  which  has  already  oc- 
curred, any  of  the  absurd  statements  connected  with  Mine,  de 
Montespan,  which  have  been  proved  to  be  absolutely  without 
foundation.  Threaten  a  punishment  so  severe  at  the  first 
utterance  that  they  will  not  dare  to  breathe  a  word  further. 

This  letter  ended  the  connection  of  Mme.  de 
Montespan  with  the  affair  of  the  "corrupters  of 
morals  "  or  the  poisoners.  She  was  saved,  but  was 
this  due  to  proofs  of  innocence  or  to  reasons  of 
State,  to  the  refusal  of  Louis  to  credit  the  testi- 
mony of  an  Abbe  Guibourg  or  Lesage,  or  to  the 
remnants  of  an  old  tenderness  ?  The  few  men  with 
whom  it  had  been  necessary  to  share  the  secrets 
which  would  respond  to  these  questions  were  so 
perfectly  mute  that  contemporaries  suspected  no- 
thing. They  saw  the  ancient  favourite  a  little  neg- 
lected, but  always  dreaming  of  the  possibility  of 
reasserting  herself,  as  the  many  pages  of  the  M£- 
'moires  of  Mademoiselle  testify.  All  this  was  in  the 
natural  course  of  events. 

One  single  indication  of  what  Louis  XIV.  thought 
at  the  bottom  of  his  soul  is  possessed  ;  a  letter  from 
the  King  to  Colbert,  who  knew  all.  Mademoiselle 
had  prayed  Mme.  de  Montespan  to  solicit  some 
favour  for  Lauzun.  The  King  charged  Colbert  to 
reply  for  him  (October,  1681)  :  "You  will  politely 
explain  to  her  that  I  always  receive  the  marks  of 
her  friendship  and  confidence  with  pleasure,  and  that 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  349 

I  am  very  vexed  when  it  is  not  possible  to  do  what 
she  desires,  but  at  this  time  I  can  do  no  more  than 
I  have  already  done." 1  Did  he  believe  the  mistress 
innocent  or  had  he  pardoned  her  ? 

The  first  preoccupation  of  Lauzun,  in  returning 
to  the  world,  must  have  been  to  make  clear  to  him- 
self through  legitimate  or  illegitimate  means  the 
chronology  of  the  King's  love  affairs,  a  history  so 
essential  for  the  comprehension  of  the  interior  life 
of  the  Court. 

The  main  facts  for  this  record  have  been  already 
given  in  the  preceding  chapter.  The  returned 
prisoner  had  afterwards  to  learn  all  that  Mademoi- 
selle had  accomplished  for  him  during  his  captivity, 
and  of  what  the  public  thought  of  her  efforts,  and 
he  recognised  that  no  one  in  France  except  Segrais 
doubted  the  fact  of  their  marriage.  That  the  mar- 
riage had  taken  place  before  his  imprisonment  was 
the  prevalent  belief,  which  was  never  really  shaken. 
It  again  came  to  light  in  the  eighteenth  century. 
The  historian  Anquetil  saw  at  T  report,  in  1744,  an 
old  person  of  more  than  seventy  years  of  age,  who 
resembled  the  portraits  of  the  Grande  Mademoi- 
selle and  did  not  know  from  whence  came  her 
pension.2  This  person  believed  herself  to  be  the 
daughter  of  the  Duchesse  de  Montpensier,  and  local 
tradition  confirmed  this  conviction.  There  were, 
however,  no  absolute  proofs,  and  it  will  be  seen 
further  on  how  this  question  of  the  marriage  with 

1  Mme.  de  Montespan  et  Louis  XI V, 

9  Louis  XIV.,  sa  Cour  et  le  Rttgent,  by  Anquetil  (Paris,  1789). 


350  Louis  XIV.  and 

Lauzun  is  brought  up  over  and  over  again  in  the 
biography  of  the  Grande  Mademoiselle,  with  a 
monotony  slightly  fatiguing  and  without  it  being 
possible  to  ever  obtain  a  clear  response. 

Whatever  the  fact  may  be,  the  Princess  gave  a 
very  fine  example  of  constancy  and  fidelity.  She 
lived  for  ten  years  absorbed  in  a  single  thought. 
The  Mtmoires  for  the  year  1673  say:  "I  remem- 
ber nothing  which  has  taken  place  during  the  past 
winter.  My  grief  occupies  me  so  much  that  I  have 
but  little  interest  in  the  actions  of  others."  To 
liberate  Lauzun  had  become  a  fixed  idea,  and  she 
attached  herself  to  the  steps  of  the  King  and  to 
those  of  Mme.  de  Montespan,  without  permitting 
herself  to  remember  the  ill  that  they  had  com- 
mitted, as  it  was  they  alone  who  could  loosen  the 
bonds.  The  more  they  showed  themselves  in- 
exorable, the  more  Mademoiselle  redoubled  her 
assiduities.  In  1676  she  enjoyed  for  the  brief  space 
of  two  hours  the  delusion  that  Louis  XI V.  at  length, 
at  the  end  of  ten  years,  was  moved  with  a  feeling 
of  compassion.  The  news  of  the  attempted  escape 
of  Lauzun  had  just  been  received.  "  I  learned  that 
the  King  had  listened  to  the  account  with  some 
sign  of  humanity,  I  can  hardly  say  of  pity.  If  he 
had  felt  this,  would  he  [Lauzun]  still  be  there  ?" 

The  Princess  wrote  to  the  King,  but  received  no 
response ;  and  again  four  years  rolled  by.  Mme, 
de  Montespan  was  no  longer  favourite.  The  court- 
iers considered  it  shrewd  to  neglect  her.  Better 
inspired,  Mademoiselle  continued  to  stand  fast  by 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  35 l 

her,  and  the  result  proved  the  wisdom  of  this 
course,  in  the  dramatic  moment,  for  Louis,  of  the 
affair  of  the  corrupters.  It  was  in  the  spring  of 
1680,  while  denunciations  were  falling  upon  the 
fallen  favourite  as  upon  all  those  connected  with 
La  Voisin,  that  Mademoiselle  remarked  by  certain 
movements  and  a  change  of  tone  that  something 
was  stirring  between  Mme.  de  Montespan  and  the 
fortress  of  Pignerol : 

I  went  to  her  daily  and  she  appeared  touched  by  the 
thought  of  M.  de  Lauzun.  .  .  .  She  often  said  to  me: 
"  But  think  how  you  can  make  yourself  agreeable  to  the  King, 
that  he  may  accord  to  you  what  you  desire  so  dearly." 
She  threw  out  such  suggestions  from  time  to  time,  which 
advised  me  that  they  were  thinking  of  my  fortune. 

The  phrase  of  a  friend  came  back  to  her :  "  But 
you  should  let  them  hope  that  you  will  make  M. 
de  Maine  your  heir."  She  recalled  other  hints 
which  at  first  had  passed  unnoticed,  and  under- 
stood that  a  bargain  was  offered. 

The  monarch  and  his  ancient  favourite  had 
agreed  between  them  to  sell  to  Mademoiselle  the 
freedom  of  the  man  she  loved  so  deeply.  What 
was  to  be  the  price  ?  This  was  not  yet  disclosed. 
It  was  some  time  before  Mademoiselle  compre- 
hended, and  then  she  was  so  disconcerted  that  she 
said  nothing.  She  felt  that  the  combat  was  not  an 
equal  one  between  herself,  from  whom  passion  had 
taken  away  all  judgment,  and  Mme.  de  Montes- 
pan, who  was  perfectly  calm,  and  she  hesitated, 
fearing  some  snare  :  "  Finally,  I  resolved  to  make 


352  Louis  XIV.  and 

M.  de  Maine  my  heir,  provided  that  the  King 
would  send  for  Lauzun  and  consent  that  I  should 
marry  him."  Some  third  person  brought  these 
conditions  to  Mme.  de  Montespan  and  was  re- 
ceived with  open  arms.  Louis  XIV.  thanked  his 
cousin  graciously  without  making  any  allusion  to 
the  condition ;  he  could  always  assert  that  he  had 
made  no  promise. 

Mademoiselle  wished  that  he  would  at  least  give 
her  some  news  of  Lauzun.  Mme.  de  Montespan 
responded  to  her  insistence  :  "  It  is  necessary  to 
have  patience,"  and  affairs  remained  at  this  point. 

At  the  end  of  some  weeks,  Mademoiselle  per- 
ceived that  she  was  no  longer  free.  She  had 
counted  upon  taking  her  time  and  having  sureties 
before  proceeding  further.  An  immediate  execu- 
tion of  the  deed  of  gift  was  insisted  upon,  and 
she  was  so  harassed  that  she  no  longer  felt  at 
liberty  to  breathe  freely. 

"  The  King  must  not  be  played  with,"  declared 
Mme.  de  Montespan  ;  "  when  a  promise  is  made  it 
must  be  kept."  "  But,"  objected  Mademoiselle, 
"  I  wish  the  freedom  of  M.  de  Lauzun,  and  sup- 
pose that  after  what  I  have  done  I  should  find 
myself  deceived,  and  my  friend  should  not  be 
liberated  ? "  Louvois  was  then  sent  to  frighten 
her,  or  Colbert  in  order  to  compass  some  conces- 
sion. It  was  no  longer  a  matter  of  testament. 

A  donation  while  living1  was  exacted,  of  the 
Principality  of  Dombes  and  of  the  Comte  of  Eu 

1  The  gift  to  be  enjoyed  only  after  the  death  of  Mademoiselle. 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  353 

without  reference  to  the  rest,  and  this  assignment 
was  obtained,  in  spite  of  complaints  and  the 
bitterest  tears ;  "  for  they  were  demanding  pre- 
cisely what  had  been  given  to  Lauzun,  and  Ma- 
demoiselle could  not  without  difficulty  resolve  to 
despoil  her  lover."  She  finally  comprehended  that 
the  King  would  not  cease  persecuting  her  until  she 
consented,  and,  feeling  no  hope  of  diminishing  the 
demands,1  she  yielded. 

The  gift  to  the  Due  de  Maine  was  signed  Feb- 
ruary 2,  1 68 1.  It  gave  some  agreeable  days  to 
Mademoiselle.  The  King  assured  her  of  his  grati- 
tude. "  At  supper  he  regarded  me  pleasantly  and 
conversed  with  me  ;  this  was  most  charming." 
Nevertheless,  Lauzun  did  not  appear.  One  day 
Mme.  de  Montespan  informed  the  Princess  that  the 
King  would  never  permit  Lauzun  to  be  Due  de 
Montpensier,  and  that  it  would  be  necessary  to 
have  a  secret  marriage.  The  Princess  cried  out : 
"  What !  Madame,  I  am  to  permit  him  to  live  with 
me  as  my  husband  with  no  marriage  ceremony  ! 
Of  what  will  the  world  think  me  capable  ?  " 

This  passage  in  the  Mdmoires  apparently  fixes 
the  date  of  marriage  after  the  return  of  Lauzun 
from  his  captivity.  There  exist,  however,  a  num- 
ber of  moral  proofs  against  this  later  date. 

Some  time  after  this  conversation,  in  the  be- 
ginning of  April,  1 68 1,  the  Court  being  at 
Saint-Germain,  Mme.  de  Montespan  announced  to 
Mademoiselle  the  immediate  departure  of  Lauzun 

1  Mtmoires  de  Saint- Simon. 


354  Louis  XIV.  and 

for  the  Baths  of  Bourbon,  and  she  then  drew  her, 
slightly  against  her  will,  to  the  end  of  the  terrace, 
far  from  indiscreet  ears.  "  When  we  were  in  the 
Val,  which  is  a  garden  at  the  end  of  the  Park  of 
Saint-Germain,  she  said  to  me,  '  The  King  has  asked 
me  to  tell  you  that  he  does  not  wish  you  to  dream 
of  ever  marrying  M.  de  Lauzun,  at  least,  officially.' " 

Mademoiselle  had  been  tricked. 

"  Upon  this,  I  began  to  weep  and  to  talk  about 
the  gifts  I  had  made,  only  on  the  one  condition. 
Mme.  de  Montespan  said,  *  I  have  promised  no- 
thing.' She  had  gained  what  she  wished,  and  was 
willing  enough  to  bear  anything  I  might  say." 
In  the  evening  it  was  necessary  to  assume  a  de- 
lighted air  and  thank  the  King  for  Lauzun's  free- 
dom ;  a  single  sign  of  ill-humour  and  Mademoiselle 
ran  the  risk  of  receiving  nothing  in  exchange  for 
her  millions. 

There  remained  the  task  of  forcing  Lauzun  to  re- 
nounce the  gifts  formerly  presented  to  him.  Mme. 
de  Montespan  took  the  route  to  Bourbon,  where 
"  she  found  greater  difficulty  than  she  had  antici- 
pated." Her  demands  so  surpassed  the  expecta- 
tions of  the  late  prisoner  that  he  revolted.  There 
were  many  disputes,  many  despatches,  and  many 
delays,1  at  the  end  of  which  the  obstinate  one,  having 
been  reimprisoned,2  was  so  harassed  with  threats 
and  promises  that  he  finally  yielded.  His  signature 
was  given  ;  he  believed  himself  free.  Instead  of 
liberty,  he  received  an  order  of  exile  to  Amboise. 

1  Saint-Simon,  Ecrits  intfdits.  9  At  Chalon-sur-Sadne. 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  355 

He  also  had  been  duped.  This  affair  is  odious 
from  beginning  to  end. 

Mademoiselle  was  Lauzun's  resource  and  provi- 
dence. She  compensated  him  as  far  as  might  be 
with  a  fresh  devotion,  in  which  Saint-Fargeau 
figured  as  an  item,  and  found  means  to  pay  him 
nearly  300,000  francs  1  over  what  the  King  would 
have  been  obliged  to  give  him  if  he  had  not  been 
sent  to  Pignerol.  With  much  difficulty,  the  impor- 
tunities of  Mademoiselle  obtained  the  desired  per- 
mission for  the  ex-prisoner  to  salute  the  King  and 
afterward  to  dwell  where  it  pleased  him,  on  the 
single  condition  that  he  would  not  approach  the 
Court.  Access  to  this  was  strictly  forbidden  ;  but 
what  would  it  have  mattered,  when  he  would  have 
humbled  himself  before  his  master  ? 

Alas  !  the  charm  was  broken,  and  for  ever.  In 
March,  1682,  at  the  single  interview  granted,  Lau- 
zun  threw  himself  ten  times,  consecutively,  at  the 
feet  of  Louis  XIV. — the  King  himself  relates  this 
— and  employed  all  his  grace,  all  his  flatteries,  with- 
out succeeding  in  breaking  the  ice. 

Received  coolly  and  dismissed  without  delay, 
there  was  nothing  left  but  to  fall  back  upon  Ma- 
demoiselle. They  had  not  yet  met,  and  it  is  a 
terrible  test  of  devotion  to  meet  after  eleven  years, 
and  to  endeavour  to  again  open  the  page  closed  by 
misfortune.  The  Grande  Mademoiselle  of  the 
time  previous  to  the  imprisonment  at  Pignerol 
singularly  resembled  the  Hermione  of  Racine,  in 

1  Exactly,  according  to  the  official  figures,  284,940  francs. 


356  Louis  XIV.  and 

her  jealousy  and  violence.  The  one  of  1682  was 
not  yet  a  tranquil  person,  but  Hermione  was  an  old 
woman,  and  Pyrrhus  a  licentious  greybeard,  who 
was  endeavouring  to  recompense  himself  for  the 
time  lost  in  prison. 

Years  had  not  made  Lauzun  in  love  with  his 
benefactress,  and  he  arrived  to  meet  her  well  re- 
solved to  finish  simply  with  expressions  of  grati- 
tude and  of  love.  Mademoiselle  was  well  aware  of 
his  infidelities.  The  grief,  mingled  with  irritation, 
which  she  felt  displayed  itself  in  a  sort  of  stiffness 
and  embarrassment.  The  great  joy  she  had  an- 
ticipated in  again  seeing  her  lover,  she  did  not 
realise. 

She  had  existed  ten  long  years  for  this  moment, 
and  when  it  came,  she  desired  to  escape.  She 
went  to  await  Lauzun  at  Mme.  de  Montespan's,  a 
first  piece  of  absurdity.  "  M.  de  Lauzun,"  say  her 
Memoir esy  "  arrived  after  his  interview  with  the 
King ;  he  wore  an  old  undress  uniform  with  short 
waistcoat,  almost  in  rags,  and  a  very  ugly  wig.1 
He  sank  at  my  feet  with  much  grace.  Then  Mme. 
de  Montespan  led  us  into  a  cabinet,  and  said,  '  You 
will  be  glad  to  speak  together.'  She  then  went 
away,  and  I  followed  her."  A  second  ridiculous 
action  !  Lauzun  profited  by  the  delay  to  salute 
the  rest  of  the  royal  family.  On  returning,  he 


1  The  coat  called  a  brevet,  because  it  could  only  be  worn  with  a  brevet 
from  the  King,  was  changed  every  year.  It  was  thus  very  out  of  fashion  at 
the  end  of  twelve  years.  Lauzun  had  worn  a  wig  at  Pignerol,  to  protect 
his  head  against  the  dampness  of  his  dungeon. 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  357 

found  his  Princess  with  Mme.  de  Montespan  and 
did  not  see  her  an  instant  alone  :  "  He  told  me 
that  he  had  been  cordially  received,  and  that  this 
he  owed  to  me ;  that  I  was  his  only  source  of  good, 
the  one  from  which  he  received  all.  He  made  cer- 
tain amiable  propositions,  and  in  thus  acting  he  was 
only  wise.  I  was  silent ;  I  was  astonished." 

This  interview  finished,  Lauzun  considered  him- 
self free  from  his  obligation?  and  returned  to  Paris 
with  a  peaceful  conscience.  Mademoiselle  dared 
not  follow  him  too  quickly.  The  fourth  day  they 
were  at  Choisy,  a  new  mansion  that  Mademoiselle 
had  built  two  leagues  from  Sceaux.  Lauzun  re- 
garded the  Princess  while  she  was  having  her  head 
adorned  with  flame-coloured  ribbons.  "He  said, 
'  I  was  astonished  to  see  the  Queen  with  many- 
coloured  ribbons  on  her  head.'  'You  must  find  it 
wrong,  then,  that  I  should  wear  them,  who  am 
older?'  He  did  not  reply.  I  told  him  that  rank 
permitted  the  decoration  for  a  longer  period."  Ma- 
demoiselle had  at  first  written,  "  People  of  my 
rank  are  always  young,"  but  had  effaced  the 
phrase.  Lauzun  knew  well  how  to  restore  her  to 
a  good-humour,  and  he  let  himself  be  scolded,  es- 
caping towards  evening  to  return  to  his  pleasures. 

The  fifth  day  they  again  disputed.  Lauzun  was 
in  the  wrong ;  he  had  spoken  of  his  visits  to 
Choisy  as  duties.  Mademoiselle,  however,  injured 
her  cause  with  sharpness.  "  I  see  clearly,"  said 
she,  "that  in  this  world  people  who  do  good 
are  mocked,  as  they  are  bores."  Lauzun,  vexed, 


358  Louis  XIV.  and 

demanded,  "  How  much  longer  is  this  pleasantry  to 
last  ?  "  "  As  long  as  I  please  ;  I  have  the  right  to 
say  all  I  wish,  and  you  are  bound  to  listen."  Lau- 
zun  showed  "  much  impatience  to  depart,"  and  this 
was  not  altogether  unnatural,  considering  the  na- 
ture of  man.  At  another  interview,  it  was  the 
lover  who  was  the  first  to  show  irritation.  To 
be  no  longer  of  any  importance  in  the  world  of 
society,  to  be  two  steps  from  the  Court  with- 
out being  free  to  enter,  this  was  more  than  he 
could  bear.  He  accused  Mademoiselle  of  hav- 
ing managed  very  badly  and  having  only  done 
harm ;  "  if  she  had  not  interfered  with  his  affairs," 
he  would  have  come  out  of  prison  under  better  con- 
ditions. Mme.  de  Montespan  overheard  the  accu- 
sation and  was  very  indignant  at  this  injustice  and 
ingratitude,  and  the  Princess  united  with  her  in 
reproaches.  It  would  be  difficult  to  find  a  clear 
moment  in  the  midst  of  these  frequent  quarrels,  in 
which  the  pair  would  have  desired  to  marry,  if  they 
had  not  done  so  before  Pignerol.  Here  is  again  a 
moral  proof  to  add  to  the  others. 

About  every  two  days,  Lauzun  became  meta- 
morphosed, and  was  again  for  some  hours,  or  at 
least  minutes,  for  Mademoiselle  the  former  "  little 
man  "  whose  eccentricities  gave  an  indescribable 
charm,  difficult  to  explain,  but  impossible  to  deny. 
He  had  not  the  least  trouble  in  again  captivating 
his  mistress.  As  soon  as  he  assumed  the  sweet 
and  submissive  air  and  the  enigmatical  smile  which 
she  had  so  dearly  loved  (even  combined  with  the 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  359 

manners  which  she  sometimes  distrusted,  "  of  be- 
ing acquainted  with  everything  without  speaking 
or  copying"),  Mademoiselle  fell  anew  under  the 
charm  and  could  refuse  nothing.  But  this  happy 
state  of  affairs  never  lasted.  The  time  to  obtain 
from  her  some  new  concession,  another  service, 
and  the  exaggerated  manner  of  the  convict  drag- 
ging his  chain  reappeared.  He  loved  to  exasper- 
ate her  jealousy.  If  nothing  better  offered,  "  he 
amused  himself  with  grisettes,"1  even  after  the 
royal  family  had  received  him  as  cousin  "  under- 
stood," if  not  avowed,  and  when  all  Paris  was  con- 
gratulating Mademoiselle  on  his  happy  release. 

Other  serious  difficulties  arose  from  the  fact  of 
Lauzun  considering  the  money  of  Mademoiselle  as 
his  own.  Choisy  appeared  to  him  a  useless  ex- 
pense ;  he  found  much  fault  with  its  management. 
"The  terraces  cost  immense  sums,"  said  he  one 
day  while  walking  in  the  grounds ;  "  what  good  are 
they?"  The  Princess  had  sold  in  his  absence  a 
chain  of  pearls.  "  Where  is  the  money  ? "  de- 
manded Lauzun.  He  wished  to  hold  the  purse 
strings,  and  no  longer  to  be  a  "beggar."  It  aston- 
ished him  that  Mademoiselle  had  not  thought  of 
preparing  for  him,  before  his  arrival,  "a  beauti- 
ful apartment,"  of  organising  his  establishment,  of 
placing  one  of  her  carriages  at  his  disposal. 

He  complained  openly  in  the  social  world  that  she 
left  him  without  a  penny ;  that  she  had  only  given 
him  some  diamonds,  worth  perhaps  one  thousand 

inedits,  Saint-Simon. 


360  Louis  XIV.  and 

pistoles  in  all — and  what  stones,  so  "ugly"  ! — and 
that  he  had  immediately  sold  them  to  obtain  means 
of  "  subsistence."  This  is  the  perpetual  complaint  of 
the  youthful  husband,  who  wishes  to  be  recompensed 
for  the  devotion  lavished  upon  an  elderly  wife.  The 
"  beautiful  apartment "  existed  and  awaited  him, 
but  it  was  at  the  Chateau  of  Eu  ;  the  King  would 
not  tolerate  his  presence  at  the  Luxembourg. 

Those  who  had  the  good  fortune  to  visit  Eu  be- 
fore the  fire  of  1902  will  not  have  forgotten  the 
flight  of  Loves  on  the  ceiling  of  a  chamber  situ- 
ated above  that  belonging  to  Mademoiselle.  The 
Chamber  of  the  Loves  was  the  one  designed  for 
Lauzun,  who  failed,  however,  to  honour  the  sym- 
bol. After  a  delay  of  three  weeks,  he  no  sooner 
arrived  than  he  committed  the  unpardonable  im- 
prudence of  running  after  the  village  girls,  under 
the  very  eyes  of  Mademoiselle.  This  was  too 
much.  The  mistress  of  the  chateau  beat  Lauzun, 
scratched  his  face,  and  turned  him  out  of  doors. 
There  he  should  stay.  He  was  sufficiently  shrewd 
to  desire  an  accommodation.  The  Comtesse  de 
Fiesque  served  as  intermediary. 

In  the  Chateau  of  Eu  there  was  a  long  gallery 
filled  with  family  portraits.  Mademoiselle  appeared 
at  one  end  ;  "  he  [Lauzun]  was  at  the  other,  and 
he  crept  along  on  his  knees  the  entire  length  of 
the  gallery,  till  he  reached  the  feet  of  Mademoi- 
selle." ]  Possibly  they  forgave  each  other  sincerely, 

1  Saint-Simon,  Memoir es.     Saint-Simon  takes  his  details  from  an  eye- 
witness. 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  361 

but  when  friction  once  exists  between  married 
couples  it  continues,  whether  in  the  palace  of  princes 
or  in  the  huts  of  charcoal  burners.  Such  scenes, 
more  or  less  stormy,  occurred  again  in  the  future. 
Lauzun  grew  weary  of  being  beaten,  and  in  his 
turn  used  force  with  the  Princess,  and  this  hap- 
pened several  times.  In  the  end,  disgusted  with 
each  other,  they  fought  for  the  last  time  and 
separated,  never  to  meet  again. 

The  final  quarrel  is  related  in  detail  in  the 
Mtmoires  of  Mademoiselle.  It  happened  in  the 
spring  of  1684.  France  was  at  war  with  Spain. 
On  April  22d  the  King  departed  to  join  his  army, 
refusing  to  permit  Lauzun  to  accompany  him,  who 
imagined,  rightly  or  wrongly,  that  Mademoiselle 
was  responsible  for  the  prohibition,  and  was  in- 
dignant. He  went  to  the  Luxembourg,  where  a 
reception  of  raillery  exasperated  him  still  further : 

I  met  him  laughing,  and  said:  "  You  must  retire  to  Saint- 
Fargeau;  you  will  be  a  laughing  stock  if  you  remain  at  Paris, 
as  you  were  not  permitted  to  go  with  the  King,  and  I  shall  be 
very  vexed  if  it  is  believed  that  it  is  I  who  have  caused  you  to 
remain  behind."  He  replied:  "  I  am  going  away,  and  bid  you 
farewell;  I  shall  never  see  you  again."  I  said:  "It  would 
have  been  better  if  we  had  never  met;  but  better  late  than 
never."  "  You  have  ruined  my  career,"  replied  he  ;  "  you 
might  as  well  have  cut  my  throat;  it  is  your  fault  that  I 
am  not  with  the  King ;  you  asked  him  to  leave  me  behind." 
"  Oh,  that  is  false;  he  will  tell  you  so  himself."  Lauzun  grew 
more  and  more  angry,  and  I  remained  very  calm.  I  said  to 
him  :  "  Adieu,  then  ";  and  I  entered  my  boudoir.  I  remained 
there  some  time  ;  on  returning,  I  found  him  still  there.  The 
ladies  present  said:  "  Do  you  not  wish  to  play  cards  ?  "  I 


362  Louis  XIV.  and 

approached  him,  saying  :  "  This  is  too  much  ;  keep  your  pro- 
mise; go  away."     He  finally  withdrew. 

This  rupture  made  a  great  scandal.  Dangeau, 
who  had  followed  the  King  to  the  frontier,  noted 
on  May  6th,  in  his  journal :  "  The  news  comes 
from  Paris  that  Mademoiselle  has  forbidden  M.  de 
Lauzun  to  appear  again  before  her."  Thus  ends 
meanly  and  miserably,  with  a  scene  worthy  of 
Dickens,  the  most  famous  passion  of  the  century, 
after  that  of  Chimene  and  Rodrigue.  The  first 
interest  in  the  affair  abated,  the  hero  of  the  ro- 
mance sank  into  obscurity.  Mademoiselle  cast  her- 
self into  an  ecstasy  of  pious  devotion,  from  which 
the  virtue  of  pardoning  the  offences  of  others  was 
apparently  excluded. 

Lauzun  sought  some  support  to  which  to  attach 
himself,  and  did  not  easily  find  it.  He  realised  too 
late  that  one  could  not  quarrel  with  impunity  with 
a  princess  of  the  blood.  He  made  attempts  at  re- 
conciliation, which  Mademoiselle  repulsed  ;  she  had 
loved  with  too  much  ardour  not  to  be  capable  of 
furious  hate.  The  career  of  both  lovers  appeared 
to  be  finished,  when  the  fantastic  star  which  had 
guided  Lauzun  towards  so  many  adventures,  mar- 
vellous if  not  always  agreeable,  led  him  to  England 
during  the  autumn  of  1688.  He  sought  a  more 
hospitable  court,  he  found  a  revolution  and  glory. 
"  I  admire  the  star  of  M.  de  Lauzun,"  wrote  Mine, 
de  SeVigne,  "which  again  brings  its  light  over  the 
horizon  when  it  was  supposed  to  be  for  ever  extin- 
guished" (December  24,  1688). 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  363 

The  name  of  Lauzun  was  actually  again  on  the 
lips  of  all.  He  had  saved  the  Queen  of  England 
and  her  son,  and  had  brought  them  to  Calais  at 
great  risk,  and  suddenly  assumed  the  pose  of  a 
true  hero,  wrongly  despised  and  persecuted.  "  It 
is  long,"  at  once  said  Louis,  "  since  Lauzun  has 
seen  my  writing.  I  believe  that  he  will  rejoice  at 
receiving  a  letter  from  me."  The  royal  missive 
bore  to  the  former  favourite-  more  than  the  pardon 
for  the  past ;  it  spoke  of  "  impatience  to  see  him 
again."1  Mademoiselle  considered  this  an  outrage 
against  herself ;  the  ministers  and  courtiers,  a  men- 
ace. (December  27th)  :  "  He  [Lauzun]  has  found 
the  road  again  to  Versailles  by  way  of  London  ;  but 
he  alone  is  joyful."  The  Princess  is  indignant  at 
the  thought  that  the  King  is  again  content  with 
him,  and  that  he  can  return  to  Court. 2 

In  vain  the  King  sent  Seignelay  to  say  to 
his  cousin,  as  a  sort  of  excuse  and  consolation  : 
"  After  such  services  rendered  by  Lauzun,  it  is 
my  duty  to  see  him."  Mademoiselle  grew  angry, 
and  said,  "  This  is  then  the  gratitude  I  receive 
for  having  despoiled  myself  for  the  sake  of  the 
King's  children."  One  of  the  friends  of  M.  de  Lau- 
zun was  charged  to  present  her  with  a  letter.  She 
threw  it  into  the  fire  unread.3  When  it  was  real- 
ised that  she  was  not  to  be  appeased,  people  ceased 
to  concern  themselves  with  her  and  her  bad  temper. 
Lauzun  re-entered  in  triumph  the  Court  of  France, 

1  Saint-Simon,  Merits  ine'dits.  *  Sevigne. 

3  Memoires  de  la  Cour  de  France,  by  Mme.  de  La  Fayette. 


364  Louis  XIV.  and 

and  Bussy-Rabutin,  in  a  letter  to  Mme.  de  Sevigne,1 
summed  up  the  record  of  his  career  (February  2, 
1689):  "We  have  seen  him  in  favour,  we  have 
seen  him  submerged,  and  now  behold  he  is  again 
riding  the  waves.  Do  you  remember  a  childish 
game  in  which  one  says,  '  I  have  seen  him  alive,  I 
have  seen  him  dead,  I  have  seen  him  alive  after  his 
death  '  ?  This  tells  his  history." 

The  "  second  volume  of  the  romance  "  offers  to 
those  interested  an  account  of  the  solemn  confer- 
ring upon  the  little  Lauzun,  in  the  church  of  Notre 
Dame,  by  King  James  II.,  of  the  Order  of  the 
Garter.  To  this  chapter  succeeds  one  less  brilliant. 
Lauzun  received  the  appointment  as  commander  of 
the  French  troops  sent  to  Ireland  to  sustain  the 
cause  of  legitimate  monarchy.  He  lacked  the  ne- 
cessary qualifications  for  this  post.  He  astonished 
his  officers  with  his  incapacity,  and  made  them 
blush  by  displaying  "  a  longing  to  return  to 
France,"2  which  was  not  heroic. 

Louis  XIV.  consented  to  make  Lauzun  Duke, 
upon  "  the  urgent  prayer  " 3  of  their  Britannic  Majes- 
ties, but  his  opinion  once  formed  never  changed. 
The  King  never  again  employed  the  new  Duke  in 
any  official  capacity,  and  this  omission  was  always 
bitterly  resented. 

As  a  result  of  many  years  of  reflection,  Made- 


1  Sevigne,  January  6,  1689. 

2  Letter  of  M.  d'  Amfreville,  general-officer  of  the  marine,  to  Seignelay, 
in  the  Histoire  de  Louvois^  by  Camille  Rousset. 

3  Saint-Simon,  Ecrits  inddits. 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  365 

moiselle  at  length  arrived  at  the  conviction,  an  ac- 
cepted commonplace,  that  happiness  is  not  for 
the  prominent  upon  this  earth.  Without  actually 
compensating  her  for  her  troubles,  this  discovery 
brought  a  certain  consolation.  She  had,  at  this 
period,  as  neighbour  in  Normandy,  a  young  and 
charming  woman  called  the  Comtesse  de  Bayard, 
who  became  in  the  following  century  the  godmother 
of  Bernardin  de  Saint- Pierre",  and  who  furnished 
her  godson  with  material  *  afterwards  woven  into 
tales  made  charming  by  his  delicately  sentimental 
language.  One  of  these  tales  by  Saint-Pierre  is 
founded  upon  the  romance  of  the  Grande  Madem- 
oiselle. Mme.  de  Bayard  liked  to  recall  how,  in 
their  lonely  walks,  the  Princess  would  linger  to 
make  the  villagers  relate  the  tales  of  their  loves 
and  marriages  ;  how  her  eyes  would  fill  with  tears, 
and  how,  returning  into  the  Chateau  of  Eu,  she 
would  say  that  she  would  have  been  happier  in 
a  hut. 

To  tears  succeeded  a  certain  childishness ;  the 
execrable  Court  life  had  educated  her  only  for 
a  puerile  old  age,  and  she  hastened  to  Versailles 
from  time  to  time,  fearing  to  miss  a  tournament 
or  some  spectacle  of  this  kind.  On  March  15, 
1693,  she  was  seized  at  Paris  with  a  disease  of  the 
bladder  which  rapidly  increased  in  severity.2  The 


1  CEuvres  completes,  of  Bernardin  de  Saint-Pierre  (Paris,  1830),   vol.  i. ; 
Essai  sur  la  Vie  by  Aime-Martin. 

2  Cf.   the  Gazette  for  1693,  and  the  series  of  the  Mercure  Galant  monthly 
periodical,  founded  in  1672  by  Donneau  de  Vise. 


366  Louis  XIV.  and 

Luxembourg  was  besieged  with  seekers  after 
news ;  the  fear  of  losing  the  Grande  Made- 
moiselle had  aroused  anew  her  popularity.  Mon- 
sieur and  Madame,  who  loved  her,  came  to  nurse 
her.  Lauzun  begged  to  be  admitted,  but  was  re- 
fused. The  condition  grew  rapidly  worse,  and  the 
physicians,  not  knowing  what  to  do,  administered 
five  doses  of  an  emetic,  the  fashionable  remedy 
that  winter  for  all  diseases,  with  the  result  that  she 
soon  saw  the  mournful  procession  of  the  royal 
family  defile  around  her  bed,  the  sure  sign  that  all 
hope  had  passed. 

The  Princess  died  on  April  i5th,  at  the  age  of 
sixty-six  years,  and  was  buried  at  Saint-Denis  with 
much  pomp.  In  the  midst  of  the  ceremony,  an  urn, 
in  which  through  a  curious  arrangement  the  entrails 
were  enclosed,  "  broke  with  a  frightful  noise  and 
emitted  a  sudden  and  intolerable  odour."  Some 
women  fainted,  while  the  rest  of  those  present 
gained  the  open  air  by  running.  "  All  was  soon 
perfumed  and  decorum  was  re-established, "but  this 
occurrence  became  the  jest  of  Paris.  It  was  fated 
that  the  Grande  Mademoiselle  should  always  arouse 
a  little  ridicule,  even  at  her  interment. 

Lauzun  went  into  deep  mourning,  and  made,  on 
the  day  of  the  funeral,  an  offer  of  marriage,  to 
prove  that  he  was  really  a  widower.  Having,  on 
this  occasion,  been  refused,  he  married  (1695)  the 
younger  daughter  of  the  Marechal  de  Lorges  and 
became  the  brother-in-law  of  Saint-Simon. 

1  Saint-Simon,  M/moires. 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  367 

Mme.  de  Lauzun  was  a  child  of  fourteen,1  to 
whom  Lauzun,  with  his  sixty-three  years,  appeared 
so  old  that  she  had  accepted  him  in  the  expecta- 
tion of  being  quickly  a  widow. 

She  flattered  herself  that  at  the  end  of  "two  or 
three  years  at  most  " 2  she  would  find  herself  inde- 
pendent, rich,  and,  above  all,  a  duchess,  and  this 
idea  captivated  her.  But  Lauzun  could  never  be 
counted  upon.  His  wife  was  obliged  to  endure  him 
for  nearly  thirty  years,  passed  in  suffering  torments 
from  morning  till  night  from  the  loving  husband. 
The  King  had  said  to  the  Marechal  de  Lorges,  in 
learning  of  the  marriage  of  his  youngest  daughter : 
"  You  are  bold  to  take  Lauzun  into  your  family  ;  I 
trust  that  you  may  not  repent  it."  Repentance 
was  prompt  and  bitter.  Mademoiselle  was  right, 
it  was  impossible  to  live  with  Lauzun.  It  was 
through  miracles  of  patience  that  his  new  wife  bore 
to  the  end,  and  miracles  should  never  be  exacted  in 
wedded  life.  The  mean  little  calculation  at  the  be- 
ginning had  been  amply  expiated  by  the  time  that 
Mme.  de  Lauzun  finally  became  a  widow.  Even 
to  the  end,  Lauzun  had  remained  one  of  the 
ornaments  and  curiosities  of  the  Court  of  France, 
noted  for  his  grand  manner,  the  eccentricities  of  his 
habits,  the  splendour  of  his  habitation,  and  for  the 
indescribable  elegance  and  ease  of  conversation 
and  bearing,  which  at  that  time  was  not  to  be  ac- 
quired at  Versailles. 

1  Saint-Simon  says  fifteen.     He  is  mistaken  ;  the  act  of  marriage  says 
fourteen.  2  Mtmoires,  Saint-Simon. 


368  Louis  XIV.  and 

At  ninety  he  himself  drove,  and  sometimes  with 
fiery  animals.  One  day,  when  he  was  training  a 
fresh  colt  in  the  Bois  de  Boulogne,  the  King,  Louis 
XIV.,  passed.  Lauzun  executed  before  him  a 
"  hundred  capers "  and  filled  the  spectators  with 
admiration,  by  his  "  address,  his  strength,  and  his 
grace."1  He  still  often  enjoyed  " pretty"  mo- 
ments. But  there  was  a  reverse  side  to  the  medal : 
the  malignant  dwarf  "  frightened  all  who  approached 
him  with  his  wicked  wit  and  his  hateful  tricks." 
From  afar,  Lauzun  is  very  amusing  under  this 
aspect ;  he  excelled  in  buffoonery.  In  extreme 
age,  he  suffered  from  a  malady  which  almost  killed 
him.  One  day,  when  he  was  very  ill,  he  perceived 
reflected  in  a  mirror  the  forms  of  two  of  his  heirs 
who  entered  the  chamber  on  tiptoe,  fancying  them- 
selves concealed  behind  the  curtains,  to  ascertain 
with  their  own  eyes  how  long  they  were  to  be  forced 
to  wait.  Lauzun  feigned  to  perceive  nothing  and 
began  to  pray  in  a  loud  voice  as  one  who  believes 
himself  alone.  He  demanded  pardon  of  God  for 
his  past  life,  and  lamented  that  his  time  for  re- 
pentance was  so  short.  He  exclaimed  that  there 
was  only  a  single  way  to  secure  his  safety,  which 
was  to  devote  the  wealth  which  God  had  given 
him  to  paying  for  his  sins,  and  this  he  engaged  to  do 
with  all  his  heart.  He  promised  to  leave  to  the 
hospital  all  that  he  possessed,  without  abstracting  a 
single  penny.  He  made  this  declaration  with  so 
much  fervour  and  with  so  penetrating  an  accent 

1  Saint-Simon,  Memoires. 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  369 

that  his  heirs  fled  away  in  despair,  to  relate  the 
misfortune  to  Mme.  de  Lauzun.  This  scene  prop- 
erly terminates  the  career  of  this  extraordinary 
personage,  unscrupulous  and  malignant  to  the  last. 
Lauzun  died  in  1723,  at  over  ninety  years  of  age. 

Mademoiselle  was  the  last  to  disappear  of  the 
grand  figures  belonging  to  the  time  of  the  Fronde. 
Retz,  Conde,  Turenne,  La  Rochefoucauld,  Mme. 
de  Chevreuse,  Mme.  de  Longueville,  had  departed 
before  her. 

The  only  one  of  the  ancient  rebels  which  could 
not  perish,  the  Hdtel  de  Ville  of  Paris,  had  been 
suppressed  from  history  by  royal  ordinance  for  the 
period  corresponding  to  the  Fronde.  The  ac- 
counts of  the  prosecutions  of  the  Council  recorded 
the  revolutionary  sentiments  which  prevailed  at 
the  capital  during  the  civil  war.  The  King  ordered 
all  the  registers  1  to  be  destroyed,  and  the  destruc- 
tion included  every  record  relating  to  public  affairs 
for  the  years  1646-1653. 

It  may  be  said  without  too  much  calumniating 
the  heart  of  Louis  XIV.  that  the  death  of  his 
cousin  afforded  a  certain  relief.  She  was  too  lively 
a  reminder  of  the  execrable  period  which  he  did 
his  best  to  banish  from  his  own  memory  as  well 
as  from  that  of  the  public.  Saint-Simon,  newly 
arrived  a  the  Court  at  the  date  of  the  death  of 


1  The  royal  ordinance  is  dated  July  7,  1668.  Louis  XIV.  was  ever  igno- 
rant of  the  fact  that  the  councillors  of  the  Hotel  de  Ville  had  passed  nights 
in  copying  what  was  to  be  burned,  so  that  the  documents  supposed  to  be 

destroyed  still  exist. 
24 


370  Louis  XIV.  and 

Mademoiselle,  had  time  to  convince  himself  that 
she  was  in  the  eyes  of  the  King  always  the  un- 
pardoned  and  unpardonable  heroine  of  the  com- 
bat of  the  Porte  Saint-Antoine.  "  I  heard  him 
reproach  his  cousin  once  at  supper,  joking  it  is 
true,  but  a  little  roughly,  for  having  turned  the 
cannon  of  the  Bastile  upon  his  troops." 

The  royal  rancour  extended  to  the  city  of  Paris, 
eternal  cradle  of  French  revolutions.  Not  being 
able  to  suppress  the  capital,  Louis  XIV.  banished 
himself  from  its  gates.  On  May  6,  1682,  unfortu- 
nate date  for  the  French  monarchy,  the  Court 
installed  itself  definitely  at  Versailles,  and  hence- 
forth left  this  place  only  for  sojourns  at  the  various 
country  seats,  as  Fontainbleau  and  Marly.  Paris 
was  abandoned,  left  to  do  penance.  Not  only  did 
Louis  XIV.  desert  this  city  as  a  place  of  resi- 
dence, but  he  visited  it  rarely.  It  was  remarked 
that  he  often  made  long  detours  rather  than  to 
pass  through  Paris.  The  nobility  and  ministers  fol- 
lowed the  King  to  Versailles.  Royalty  and  the 
capital  turned  their  backs  on  each  other. 

Another  important  event  influenced  the  ideas  of 
Court  decorum  and  propriety.  The  Queen  Marie- 
Therese  dying  in  1683  (July  30),  Louis  XIV.  in 
the  course  of  the  winter  following  formally  married 
Mme.  de  Maintenon.  The  physiognomy  of  the 
Court,  what  Saint-Simon  would  have  called  the 
bark  (tcorce),  entirely  changed  its  character.  At 
the  moment  of  ending  this  long  study  it  is,  then,  a 
different  world  to  which  adieu  must  be  said  from 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  371 

the  one  which  was  found  at  the  beginning,  and  the 
transformation  did  not  end  with  the  "bark."  The 
principal  cause  of  the  change,  the  establishment 
of  absolute  monarchy,  had  acted  violently  upon 
France  in  shaking  the  nation  to  its  depths,  as  do 
all  changes  not  developing  from  national  tradition. 

Absolute  monarchy  was  not  a  French  tradition. 
It  was  an  importation  from  Spain.  Anne  of  Austria, 
who  did  not  understand  any  other  regime,  had  edu- 
cated her  son  to  accept  her  ideas  and  habits  of 
thought,  and  the  substitution  of  king  for  minister 
was,  at  the  death  of  Mazarin,  accomplished  without 
shock.  It  was,  however,  a  real  coup  d'ttat. 

Before  Louis  XIV.  the  royal  power,  without  being 
submitted  to  precise  limitations,  from  time  to  time 
hurled  itself  against  certain  rights,  themselves  often 
loosely  defined.  There  existed  privileges  of  the 
Parliament,  others  of  the  State,  together  with  those 
of  the  nobles,  and  others  belonging  to  bodies  and 
individuals,  which  when  united  left  the  King  of 
France  in  a  situation  resembling  that  in  which 
Gulliver  found  himself,  when  the  Liliputians  bound 
him  with  hundreds  of  minute  threads.  Each  single 
thread  was  of  no  consequence ;  through  the  com- 
pression of  all  together  every  movement  was 
paralysed.  Louis  XIV.  resolutely  broke  the  nu- 
merous threads  which  had  trammelled  the  power 
of  his  predecessors.  He  freed  himself  in  suppress- 
ing the  ancient  liberties  of  France.  No  student 
of  history  can  be  ignorant  of  the  material  results, 
so  splendid  at  first,  so  disastrous  in  the  end ;  but 


372  Louis  XIV.  and 

certain  moral  consequences  of  his  government  have 
been  perhaps  less  clearly  remarked. 

The  French  aristocracy  ceased  from  the  second 
generation  to  be  a  nursery  for  men  of  action.  This 
was  the  result  desired  from  the  policy  of  keeping  it 
chained  to  the  steps  of  the  throne.  The  end  had 
been  attained  at  the  date  of  the  King's  death. 
Saint-Simon,  who  cannot  be  suspected  of  hostility 
towards  the  nobility,  certifies  to  this.  When  the 
Duke  arrived  at  power  under  the  Regent,  his  brain 
swarming  with  projects  for  replacing  the  aristocrats 
in  positions  of  importance,  and  when  he  sought 
great  names  with  which  to  fill  great  posts,  he  real- 
ised that  he  was  too  late.  The  "nursery"  was 
empty.  The  difficulty,  say  the  Mtmoires 

lay  in  the  ignorance,  the  frivolity,  and  the  lack  of  appli- 
cation of  a  nobility  which  had  been  accustomed  to  lives  of 
frivolity  and  uselessness  ;  a  nobility  that  was  good  for  nothing 
but  to  let  itself  be  killed,  and  that  reached  the  battlefield 
itself  only  through  the  force  of  heredity.  For  the  remain- 
der of  the  time,  it  was  content  to  stagnate  in  an  existence 
without  a  purpose.  It  had  delivered  itself  over  to  idleness 
and  felt  keen  disgust  for  all  education,  excepting  that  relating 
to  military  matters.  The  result  was  a  general  incapacity  and 
unfitness  for  affairs. 

It  is  proper  to  render  to  Caesar  what  belongs  to 
Caesar.  The  effacement  of  the  French  aristocracy 
is  not  to  be  laid  at  the  door  of  the  great  Revolu- 
tion, which  acted  only  upon  an  accomplished  fact ; 
it  was  the  personal  work  of  Louis  XIV. 

The  higher  classes  also,  contrary  to  the  generally 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  373 

received  opinion,  suffered  from  a  serious  moral 
abasement.  This  fact  is  the  more  striking,  as 
at  no  other  period  has  France  possessed  so  many 
elements  for  giving  to  life  decorum  and  dignity. 
Through  a  deplorable  misfortune,  social  groups 
which  ought,  through  their  solid  principles,  to  have 
served  as  the  support  of  public  morality  had  in- 
curred, one  after  the  other,  the  serious  displeasure 
of  royalty.  Among  the  Catholics,  the  disciples  of 
Berulle  and  of  Vincent  de  Paul  had  compromised 
themselves  in  the  affair  of  the  Compagnie  du  Saint 
Sacrement.  No  government,  worthy  of  the  name 
can  suffer  itself  to  be  led  by  a  secret  society,  what- 
ever the  purpose  or  character  of  such  society  may 
be.  The  Jansenists  had  shared  with  the  reformers 
in  the  discontent  that  the  least  expression  of  a  de- 
sire for  independence,  no  matter  in  what  domain, 
inspired  in  Louis  XIV. 

His  distrust  even  reached  the  interior  life  of  his 
subjects.  Every  one,  under  penalty  of  being  con- 
sidered a  rebel,  must  feel  and  think  like  the  King. 
This  was  with  Louis  a  fixed  idea,  and  during  his 
reign  gave  a  peculiar  character  to  the  religious  per- 
secutions. Jansenists  and  Protestants  were  pursued 
much  oftener  as  enemies  of  the  King  than  as  ene- 
mies of  God. 

The  hostility  of  the  Prince  to  the  three  principal 
seats  of  the  French  conscience,  and  the  destruction  of 
two  of  these,  left  the  field  clear  for  the  licentiousness 
which  marked  the  end  of  the  reign.  Excessive  dis- 
sipation is  always  supposed  to  belong  particularly 


374  Louis  XIV.  and 

to  the  time  of  the  Regency,  but  the  abscess  had  ex- 
isted for  a  long  time  before  the  death  of  Louis 
XIV.  caused  it  to  break.  A  letter  as  early  as  1680 
states,  "  Our  fathers  were  not  more  chaste  than  we 
are  ;  but  .  .  .  now  the  vices  are  decorated 
and  refined."  *  The  evil  had  made  rapid  progress 
under  the  mantle  of  hypocrisy,  which  covered  the 
Court  of  France  from  the  time  of  the  rule  of  Mme. 
de  Maintenon.  This  last  well  perceived  the  danger 
and  groaned  over  it  to  no  purpose.  Strangers  were 
struck  with  the  conditions.  "  All  is  more  con- 
centrated," wrote  one  of  them  in  1690,  "  more  re- 
served, more  restrained,  than  the  peculiar  genius  of 
the  nation  can  bear."' 

The  real  misfortune  was  that  Louis,  who  had 
been  brought  up  and  matured  in  an  entirely  formal 
religion,  had  permitted  himself  to  be  imposed  upon 
by  scoffers,  who  came  disguised  as  believers,  in 
order  to  make  their  court.  The  King,  who  had 
permitted  the  representation  of  Tartuffe,  had  not 
sufficiently  meditated  upon  its  import. 

A  final  misdeed,  and  not  the  least  for  which  the 
absolute  regime  is  responsible,  was  the  launching  of 
the  nation  in  pursuit  of  one  of  the  most  dangerous 
of  political  chimeras,  that  of  the  need  of  spiritual 
unity.  Louis  XIV.  revoked  the  Edict  of  Nantes 
in  the  name  of  the  fetich  that  a  good  Frenchman 
must  be  of  his  King's  faith.  A  century  later,  the 

1  From  La  Riviere  to  Bussy-Rabutin. 

*  Relation  de  la  Cour  de  France,  by  Ezechiel  Spanheim,  envoy  extraordi- 
nary from  Brandenbourg. 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  375 

Terror  cut  off  heads  In  the  name  of  a  unity  of 
opinion,  because  a  Frenchman  ought  to  be  virtuous 
in  the  fashion  of  Rousseau  and  of  Robespierre. 
The  reader  may  continue  for  himself  the  series,  and 
count  the  acts  of  oppression  committed  in  the  nine- 
teenth century,  while  even  the  twentieth  century, 
young  as  it  still  is,  presents  examples  of  the  at- 
tempt to  enforce  upon  the  nation  a  uniformity  of 
thought  which,  if  once  attained,  would  signify  in- 
tellectual death.  For  in  politics,  as  in  religion,  as 
in  art,  in  literature,  in  all,  diversity  is  life. 

It  is  through  this  capital  error  that  the  reign  of 
Louis  XIV.,  so  glorious  in  many  respects,  was  the 
precursor  of  the  great  Revolution  and  really  made 
its  coming  inevitable.  The  Jacobins  are  in  some 
measure  the  heirs  of  the  great  King.  Fundament- 
ally, the  mania  for  spiritual  and  moral  unity  is 
simply,  under  a  less  odious  name,  the  horror  of 
liberty ;  a  sentiment  old  as  the  world,  but  which  in 
the  earlier  portion  of  the  seventeenth  century  had 
been  far  from  dominant.  The  word  "liberty" 
occurs  again  and  again  in  the  writings  of  many 
people  of  that  period,  theorists,  jurists,  and  great 
nobles,  at  every  point  in  which  they  touch  politics. 
The  expression  contained  for  them  nothing  revo- 
lutionary. What  they  were  demanding  was  rather 
a  return  to  past  methods,  and,  above  all,  it  did  not 
enter  their  thoughts  to  associate  with  liberty  the 
word  "  equality."  It  is  the  eighteenth  century, 
more  philosophical,  if  perhaps  less  reasonable,  that 
first  conceived  the  idea  of  uniting  two  really 


376  Louis  XIV.  and 

incompatible  things,  without  perceiving  that  one 
of  the  two  was  destined  to  annihilate  the  other. 

If  absolute  royalty  had  remained  at  Paris,  it 
would  have  clearly  realised  the  point  at  which  the 
nation  no  longer  was  in  sympathy  with  its  rule.  At 
Versailles  it  saw  nothing  ;  it  shut  itself  up  in  its 
own  tomb.  The  divorce  was  consummated  be- 
tween the  Court  and  the  Capital,  one  contenting 
itself  with  being  figurative  and  ornamental,  the 
other  actively  controlling  opinions,  since  royalty 
had  renounced  the  office  of  directing  the  public 
mind  and  thoughts. 

It  will  be  recollected  that  the  rdle  of  universal 
arbitrator  was  played  by  the  "  young  Court,"  the 
youthful  King  at  its  head,  at  the  time  in  which 
there  was  daily  contact  with  Paris,  and  when  the 
Court  was  always  in  the  advance  in  ideas  as  in  fash- 
ions. The  residence  at  Versailles  ended  the  possi- 
bility of  these  times  ever  returning ;  there  was  no 
longer  any  bond  between  the  King  of  France  and 
the  merchant  of  the  rue  St.  Denis.  In  consequence, 
Paris  employed  itself  in  the  eighteenth  century  in 
the  evolution  of  minds.  The  Court  had  decided 
upon  the  success  of  the  plays  of  Moliere,  the 
Parisian  parquet  criticised  those  of  Beaumarchais. 

If  it  be  considered  that  the  interior  politics  of 
Louis  XIV.  were  constantly  dominated  by  a  horror 
of  the  Fronde,  it  will  be  recognised  that  this  abor- 
tive revolution  brought  in  its  train  consequences 
almost  as  grave  as  if  it  had  been  successful.  This 
is  the  reason  it  has  seemed  permissible  to  make  the 


La  Grande  Mademoiselle  377 

history  of  the  ideas  and  sentiments  existing  during 
the  wars  of  the  Fronde  and  the  succeeding  forty 
years  circle  around  the  incidents  in  the  life  of  the 
Grande  Mademoiselle.  She  was  a  truly  representa- 
tive figure  of  this  generation,  and  on  this  account 
will  always  merit  the  attention  of  historians,  and 
by  a  double  claim,  through  the  interest  in  her  proud 
conception  of  life,  and  through  the  importance  of 
the  evil  for  which  she  was  partly  responsible  and 
by  the  results  of  which  she  was  herself  over- 
whelmed. No  one  possessed  in  a  higher  degree 
than  this  Princess  the  great  qualities  belonging  to 
her  epoch,  and  no  one  preserved  them  so  intact 
without  thought  of  the  danger  after  the  retaining 
of  such  opinions  had  become  a  cause  of  disgrace. 

Neither  Retz  nor  the  great  Conde  showed  signs 
in  their  old  age  of  their  characteristics  displayed 
under  the  Fronde  ;  both  had  become  calmed.  The 
Grande  Mademoiselle  remained  always  the  Grande 
Mademoiselle,  and  this  steadfastness,  while  some- 
times a  difficulty,  was  more  often  her  real  title  to 
glory. 


INDEX 


Absolute  monarchy,  establish- 
ment of,  in  France,  7,  118, 
142;  a  Spanish  importation, 

Adickes,  Erich,  Kant  als  Mensch 

by,  220 
Aime-Martin,  Essai  sur  la  Vie, 

.by,  365 

Aix,  Court  at,  100-102 

Aix-la-Chapelle,  treaty  of,  258 

Albret,  Marechal  d',  282 

Akeste  (Lulli),  218 

Alengon,  Elisabeth,  Mile,  d', 
daughter  of  Monsieur,  77,  133, 
186;  marriage  of,  235,  294 

Allier,  Raoul,  La  C abate  des 
Devots,  by,  83,  85,  157,  181, 
198 

Alluye,  Marquise  d',  344 

Alphonse  VI.,  King  of  Portugal, 
142-145,  160,  185 

Amadis,  216 

Amants  Magnifiques,  Les  (Mo- 
lie"  re),  202 

Amaryllis,  18 

A  mbassadeur  de  la  Fuente  au  roi 
d'Espagne,  L' ,  189 

Amboise,  Chateau  of,  27,  44,  354 

Amfreville,  M.  d',  364 

Amiens,  263 

"Amours  of  Hercules,"  120 

Andilly,  Arnauld,  d',  79 

Andromaque  (Racine),  225,  228 

Angelique,  Mother,  88,  92 

Angennes,  Julie  d',  264 

Anjou,  Philippe,  Due  d'  (the 
little  Monsieur) ,  proposed 
marriage  of,  with  Madem- 
oiselle, 59,  73,  272-278;  char- 
acter of,  74,  102,  105,  152, 
196,  261,  262,  271,  272;  be- 
comes Due  d' Orleans,  102; 


marries  Henrietta  of  Eng- 
land, 136,  151,  152;  marries 
Princess  Palatine,  156,  315; 
daughters  of,  277;  opposed 
vto  mesalliance  of  Mile.,  285 

Anjou,  son  of  Louis  XIV.,  285 

Anne  of  Austria,  regency  of,  i; 
education  of  her  sons,  31,  63- 
65»  74»  371;  relations  of,  with 
Mazarin,  62,  63,  82,  112,  304; 
reception  of  Mademoiselle, 
57-59,  and  lack  of  Court  eti- 
quette, 76-79,  82;  member 
of  Compagnie  du  Saint-Sacre- 
ment,  87,  103,  148,  158,  198; 
prevents  marriage  of  Louis 
and  Marie  Mancini,  82,  97; 
receives  Conde,  100;  inter- 
view of,  with  Philip  IV.,  108- 
no;  favours  absolute  mon- 
archy, 1 1 8,  146,  371;  be- 
friends Marie-Ther^se,  118, 
149;  detests  Madame,  122; 
reproaches  Louis,  153,  170; 
influence  of,  153,  159,  192, 
194,  195,  208;  illness  and 
death  of,  194-197;  effect  of 
death  of,  195,  197,  200,  201, 
206,  208,  209 

Anquetil,  Louis  XIV.,  sa  Cour 
et  le  Regent,  by,  349 

Archives  de  la  Bastille  (Ravais- 
son),  189,  201,  209,  282,  293, 
312,  343,  344 

Archives  de  Chantilly,  117,  174, 
175,  186 

Archives  of  Eu.     See  Eu 

Ariane  (Monteverde) ,  214 

Armagnac,  Louis  de  Lorraine, 
Comte  d',  237 

Arras,  seige  of,  23,  161 

Artamene,  ou  le  Grand  Cyrus 
(Scudery),  n 

A  sir  ate,  81 


379 


38o 


Index 


Astree,L'  (d'Urfe),   ir,   14,  80 

Aubineau,  Leon,  67 

Aumale,  Due  d',  46 

Aumale,  Mile,  d',  Memoires  of, 

291 

Auteuil,  Comte  d',  47 
Ayen,  Comte  d'   (Due  de  No- 

ailles),  270 

B 

Bachaumont,  32 

Bajazet  (Racine),  8,  225 

Ballet  des  Arts,  172 

Bartelemy,  Eduard  de  (Hon- 
orat  de  Bueil,  Marquis  de 
Racan),  editor  La  Galerie  des 
Portraits,  etc.,  122,  130 

Bastile,  the,  247,  370 

Bastille,  Archives  de  la.  See 
Archives 

Bavidre,  Anne  de.  See  Pala- 
tine 

Bavidre,  Elisabeth  Charlotte 
de  (Madame).  See  Palatine 

Baviere,  Marie  Anne  Christine 
de,  347 

Bayard,  Comtesse  de,  365 

Baziniere,  Sieur  de  la,  76 

Beaufort,  Due  de,  185 

Belief onte,  Marshal  of,  264 

Bernidres,  M.  de,  87,  88,  91,  92; 
Relations  of,  87-90 

Berri,   government  of,   307 

Berulle,  373 

Bethleem,  Bishop  of,  191 

Bethune,  Comte  de,  47 

Bethune,  Mme.  de,  266 

Beuvron,  Charles  d'Harcourt, 
Comte  de,  275 

Beziers,  M.  de,  147 

Bezon,  M.  de,  343 

Bidassoa,  river,  105,  no 

Bielle,  Sieur  de,  83 

Blois,  forced  sojourn  of  Mon- 
sieur at,  25-35,  39-41,  49-53, 
97,  98,  134;  court  at,  97 

Blois,  Mile,  de,  marriage  of,  337 

Bocquet,  Mile.  (Agelaste),  124 

Boileau,  217,  222,  223 

Bois-le-Vicomte,  Chateau  of,  50 

Bologna,  theatres  in,   215 

Bordeaux,  Court  at,  98,  99,  132 


Bossuet,  Court  preacher,  140, 
142,  200;  funeral  oration  of, 
152;  at  death-bed  of  Ma- 
dame, 272,  273 

Boucherat,  344 

Bougy,  Lady  de,  211 

Bouillon,  Due  de,  77 

Bouillon,  Duchesse  de,  344 

Bouligneux,  M.  de,  264 

Boult,  89 

Bourbon,  Baths  of,  329,  354 

Bourbon,  Henri  de.  See  Mont- 
pensier 

Bourbon,  House  of,  42,  47 

Bourbon,  Marie  de,  42 

Bourdaloue,  Court  preacher,  200 

Bourgogne,  Hotel  de,  227 

Bourgogne,  province  of,  83,  94 

Boursault,  225 

Boyer,  Abbe,  tragedies  of,  226 

Brandenbourg,  374 

Brie,  province  of,  83,  84 

Brienne,  Father,  190 

Broglie,  Emmanuel  de,  Saint 
Vincent  de  Paul,  by,  82,  91 

Brunetie"re,  M.  F.,  Les  Epoques 
du  Theatre  francais;  Les 
Etudes  critiques  sur  I'His- 
toire  de  la  Litterature  fran- 
faise,  by,  223 

Bussy-Rabutin,  Memoires  of, 
cited,  32,  55,  61,  147,  148, 
160,  248,  337,  342,  343,  345; 
letters  to,  272,  273,  302,  305, 
342,  374;  Correspondance  de, 
303,  364 


Cabale  des  Devots,  La  (Allier), 
83,  85,  88,  148,  157,  181,  198, 
199 

Cahiers  de  Mile,  d' Aumale,  Les, 

23°,  34i 

Cambert,  Pomone,  opera  by,  216 
Carignan,  Princesse  de,  291 
Carrosse  Amarante,  223 
Cartwright,      Julia,      Madame, 

Memoirs  of  Henrietta,  Duchesse 

of  Orleans,  by,  136 
Cassandre  (La  Calprenede),  n 
Cato,     Mme.     de     Montespan's 

maid,  344,  346 


Index 


381 


Caylus,  Mme.  de,  Souvenirs  et 
Correspondance  of,  300;  Sou- 
venirs de,  150,  347 

Chaillou  des  Barres,  Baron,  Les 
Chdteaux  d'Ancy-le-France,  de 
Saint-Fargeau,  etc.,  by,  6 

Chalais,  25 

Chalon-sur-Saone,  354 

Chambord,  26,  33 

Chambre  ardente,  established  by 
Louis,  204,  343,  344;  suppres- 
sion of,  347 

Champagne,  province  of,  55,  56, 
87,  92,  334 

Champigny  lawsuit,  49,  50,  125 

Ghantelauze,  Saint  Vincent  de 
Paul  et  les  Gondi,  by,  82,  112 

Chantilly,  see  Archives  of 

Chapelle,  32 

Charenton,  289 

Charles  II.  (of  England),  136 

Charles  II.  (of  Spain),  marriage 
of,  277 

Chdteaux  d'Ancy-le-France,  de 
Saint-Fargeau,  etc.,  Les 
(Chaillou  des  Barres),  6 

Chatelet,  the,  211 

Chatellerault,  duchy  of,  49 

Chatillon,  Duchesse  de,  78,  80, 
126 

Cha  trier,  Mme.  de,  335 

Chauvelin,  M.  de,  347 

Cheruel,  editor,  3,  48,  297 

Chevreuse,  Mme.  de,  369 

Choisy,  Mile. 's  mansion  at,  357, 

359 

Choisy,  Francois-Timoleon,  Ab- 
be de,  Memoires  of,  74,  133, 
134,  138,  281,  289,  291,  310, 
34° 

Choisy,  Mme.  de,>i3 

Chouquet,  Histoire  de  la  Mu- 
sique  dramatique  en  France, 
by,  213 

Cinq-Mars,  25 

Clagny,  Chateau  of,  235 

Clairvoyants,  201-207 

Clamecy,  191 

Clement,  P.,  Mme.  de  Montespan 
et  Louis  XIV.,  by,  282 

Cleopatre  (La  Calpfenede),  n 

Colbert,  protected  by  Madem- 
oiselle's escort,  56;  reorgan- 


ises finances,  141,  171,  177; 
letters  to,  183,  348;  enemy  of 
Compagnie  du  Saint  Sacre- 
ment,  198;  opposes  Louyois, 
287;  protests  against  King's 
extravagance,  332-337;  medi- 
ation of ,  345,  352 

Coligny,  Admiral  de,  78 

Comedie  Frangaise,  109 

Conde,  Prince  de  (the  Great),  3, 
56,  117,  256,  377;  alliance  of, 
with  Mademoiselle,  3,  16,  17, 
33.  45.  56»  369J  defeat  of,  20, 
23,  54;  letters  of,  38-40,  46, 
""147, 174,  1 86;  rupture  of ,  with 
Mile.,  46,  47,  52;  cruelty  of 
army  of,  55,  83;  pardoned, 
100,  101,  1 13;  son  of,  1 17;  ap- 
preciation of  Racine,  229; 
opposes  Mlle.'s  marriage,  285, 
291,  292,  296 

Conde,  Princesse  de,  16,  17,  46 

Conti,  Louis  Armand,  Prince  de, 
marriage  of,  48,  337 

Corneille,  80,  81,  129,  223-226, 
228,  240,  241 

Correspondance  de  Bussy-Rabu- 
tin,  303 

Correspondance  de  Pomponne, 
La,  297 

Correspondant,  the,  112 

Cotin,  Abbe,  (Euvres  galantes  en 
verset  en  prose,  by,  2  20, 2  2 3, 2 26 

Coulanges,  287 

Country  Pleasures,  operetta,  19 

Court  of  France,  Mademoiselle 
returns  to,  2,  57-59,  72;  in 
disgrace  with,  16,  19,  45,  55; 
returns  to  Paris,  19-21,  65, 
no,  281 ;  Monsieur  under  pro- 
tection of,  39,  40,  48;  journeys 
of,  53,  68,  94-104,  108,  no, 
132,  257,  258,  307;  manners 
and  morals  of,  76-79,  81,  82, 
123-125,  128-131,  338;  eti- 
quette of,  78,  104-111,  233; 
occupations  of,  103,  230-232; 
the  young,  148,  174,  224,  229, 
376;  brilliancy  of,  174,  258- 
260,  315;  size  of,  174,  175, 
258;  at  Versailles,  174,  176- 
!82,  333,  365,  370,  376;  at 
Fontamebleau,  182,  184;  lit- 


382 


Index 


Court  of  France — Continued 
erary  tastes  of,  224,  227,  229, 
376;   at   Saint-Germain,    269, 
353.   3545  changed  character 
of,  370,  371,  374 

Court   of   Saint-Fargeau,   6-10, 
17-20,  129-131,  135 

Cousin,  La  Societe  francatse  an 
XV 1 1  erne  siecle,  by,  124 

Creation    de    Versailles,    la    (de 
Nolhac),  176 

Cregny,  Due  de,  282 

Crequi,  297 

Crisse,     Mme.    de,    original    of 
Countess  de  Pimbesche,  191 

Crosne,  89 

Crussol,  Emmanuel  II.,  de.    See 
Uzes 


Dafne,  musical  tragedy,  214 

Dames,  les  (the  "ladies"),  315, 
334-336 

Dauphin,  the  Grand,  154,  155, 
179;  marriage  of,  347;  death 
of,  219 

De  Chapelain,  226 

Declaration  par  le  Menu  du 
Comte  d'Eu,  163 

Delamare,  Philibert,  Melanges, 
by,  285,  286,  290,  294,  301 

Delaure,  Histoire  de  Paris,  by, 
21 

De  La  Valliere  a  Montespan 
(Lemoine  and  Lichtenberger) , 
175,  229,  263,  335 

Delort,  J.,  Histoire  de  la  Deten- 
tion des  Philosophes,  by,  312 

Deltour,  F.,  Les  Ennemis  de  Ra- 
cine, by,  223,  226 

Derby,  Lady,  137 

Deux  Chevres  (La  Fontaine) ,  Les, 
107 

Devineresses,  Les  (La  Fontaine) , 

203 

Devolution,  war  of  the,  154,  257 
Diafoirus,  Thomas,  109 
Dictionnaire  des  Precieuses,  Le 

(Somaize),  13 
Diderot,  172 
Dijon,  Court  at,  94,  95 
Divine  Right  of  Kings,  doctrine 

of.  139-142 


Dombes,  principality  of,  49,  95; 
given  to  Lauzun,  288;  de- 
manded for  Due  du  Maine,  352 

Dreyss,  Charles,  editor  of  Me- 
moires  of  Louis  XIV.,  58,  69, 
141,  278 

Dubois,  Les  Fragments  des  Me- 
moir~es  inedits,  by,  67 

Dubuisson  (Lesage).  See  Le- 
sage 

Dubuisson  -  Aubenay,  Journal 
des  Guerre s  civile s,  by,  92 

Dunkerque,  173,  307 

Dupre,  Mile.,  124 


E 


Ecole  des  Femmes  (MolieTe),  131, 
^227 

Ecrits  inedits  (Saint-Simon), 3 5 4, 
^359,  363,  364 
Education    politique    de    Louis 

XIV.,  L'  (Lacour-Gayet)  64 
Elbeuf,  M.  d',  178 
Elisabeth  de  France,  mother  of 

Marie-Ther£se,  149 
Embrun,  Archbishop  of,  38,  39 

190 
Enghien,  Due  d',  117;  marriage 

of,  174 

Ennemis  de  Racine,  Les   (Del- 
„  tour),  223,  226 
Epoques     du   Theatre    francais, 

Les  (Brunetiere) ,  223 
Essai  sur  la  Vie  (Aime-Martin) , 

365 
Estrees,  Marechal  d',  76 

Etampes,  54 

Etrechy,  89 

Etudes  critiques  sur  I' Histoire  de 
la  Litterature  franfaise,  Les 
(Bruneti^re),  223 

Eu,  Chateau  d',  147,  170;  Ar- 
chives of,  162,  163,  167-169; 
Mademoiselle  at,  169,  182, 
183,  360-363,  365 

Eu,  Comte  d',  property  of  the 
Guise,  161;  sale  of,  161-167; 
revenue  from,  162-166;  given 
to  Lauzun,  288;  given  to  Due 
du  Maine,  352,  353 

Eugenie,  ou  la  force  du  destin,  14 


Index 


383 


Fabert,  84 

Famine  of  1659-1662,  93 
Feillet,  La  misere  au  temps  de  la 
Fronde   et   Saint    Vincent   de 
Paul,  by,  82,  84 
Ferte,  Marechale  de  la,  344 
Feuquieres,  Marquis  de,  344 
Fiesque,    Comtesse   de,    16,   45, 

129,  360 
Fille,  la,  fable  of  (La  Fontaine), 

190-191 

Flanders,  Court  in,  257,  307 
Fontainebleau,    Court    at,    174, 

182-188,  308 

Fontanges,  Mile,  de,  339,  340 
Fontarabia,   marriage  of   Louis 

XIV.  at,  104,  105,  no 
Forges,  Baths  of,  10,  53,  146 
Foucquet,   Abbe,    25,    78;   pun- 
ishment   of,     141;     imprison- 
ment of,   311-313,   326,   330; 
death  of,  326,  329 
Fragments   des   Memoires   ined- 

its,  Les  (Dubois),  67 
France,  failure  of  Fronde  impor- 
tant to,  i ;  fondness  for  sport 
in,  7 ;  results  of  absolute  mon- 
archy in,  7,  371,  372;  wars  of 
with  Spain,  16,  20,  55,  59,  145, 
361 ;  famine  and  misery  in,  54, 
55,  82-94,  331,  334;  advan- 
tages to,  from  peace  of  the 
Pyrenees,  99 ;  conversation 
the  delight  of  intelligent,  123, 
135;  reforms  of  Louis  and 
Colbert  in,  141,  142,  171;  in- 
crease of  industry  and  com- 
merce, 142;  "rights"  in,  168; 
growing  power  and  influence 
of,  171;  influence  of  women 
in,  193,  194;  belief  in  astrol- 
ogy and  sorcery,  201-212;  in- 
troduction of  dramatic  music 
into,  213-217;  war  of,  with 
Holland,  235,  318,  330;  con- 
sternation in,  over  projected 
marriage  of  Mademoiselle, 
283,  284,  286,  290,  292,  294, 
295,  297;  mistress  of  the 
world,  330,  331;  moral  deteri- 
oration of,  338,  372-374 
France,  Court  of.  See  Court 


Franche-Comte,  330 

Francis  I.,  27 

Fronde,  the,  failure  of,  i,  47; 
effect  of,  i,  58,  65,  68,  376; 
leaders  of,  2,  11,  81,  369, 
Mademoiselle  the  heroine  of, 
3.  53.  59,  72>  37°;  wars  of,  16, 
20,  36,  54,  82-85,  213,  221, 
232,  377;  abuses  giving  rise 

tO,     21,     22 

Frondeurs,  the,  2,  47,  58,  77,  369 
Frontenac,  Mme.  de,  14,  15,  45 


G 


Galerie  des  Portraits  de  Mile,  de 
Montpensier,  la,  122,  125-127, 
129-131,  135 

Gaston,  Due  d' Orleans.  See 
Orleans 

Gazette  de  Hollande,  307 

Gazette  of  Loret,  18,  20,  30,  171- 
174,  178,  179,  227,  272,  365 

Gazette  de  Renaudot,  269 

Geoffroy,  editor  of  Letters  of 
Mme.  de  Maintenon,  64 

Germany,  peace  of  the  Pyrenees 
unfavourable  to,  99;  humili- 
ated by  Louis  XIV.,  171, 

33 1 

Giustiniani,  Venetian  Ambassa- 
dor, 142 

Gomberville,  works  of,  1 1 
Gonzague,  Anne  de.     See  Pala- 
tine 

Gonzague,  Marie  de.      See  Po- 
land 
Goulas,    Nicolas,    Memoires   of, 

28,  34 

Gramont,  Catherine  de,  211 
Gramont,  Chevalier  de,  35 
Gramont,  Mare'chal  de,  149,  211 
Grand  Cyrus,  Le  (Scudery),  n, 

124 

Grignan,  Mme.  de,  n 
Guibourg,  Abb6,  345,  348 
Guiche,  Comte  de,  71,  148,  149 
Guilloire,  286,  307 
Guise,  Charles  de  Lorraine,  Due 

de,  42 

Guise,  Chevalier  de,  221 
Guise,  Due  de,   177,   178;  mar- 
ried Mile,  d' Orleans,  294,  295 


Index 


Guise,  Duchesse  de  (grand- 
mother of  Mademoiselle),  42, 
51 

Guise,  family  of,  161.  See  also 
Lorraine 

Guise,  Mile,  de,  marriage  of,  161 

Guitry,  Marquis  de,  282,  297 


H 


Hachette,  202 

Hanotaux,  M.  G.,  150,  230,  341 

Haro,  Don  Luis  de,  107,  108 

Haussonville,  Comte  d',  150, 
219,  291 

Heine,  Heinrich,  224,  228 

Henrietta  of  England  (Madame) 
wife  of  Philippe,  Due  d'Or- 
le"ans,  136,  151-153,  191;  re- 
lations of,  with  Louis  XIV., 
194,  228;  death  of,  233,  270- 
273»  2755  daughters  of,  277 

Henry  III.,  67 

Henry  IV.,  149,  283 

Henry,  Victor,  La  Magie  dans 
VInde  antique,  by,  210 

Herse,  Presidente  de,  88,  92 

Histoire  amoureuse  des  Gaules 
L',  297 

Histoire  du  Chateau  de  Blois,  L', 
(La  Saussaye),  26 

Histoire  de  France  (Porchat  and 
Miot,  trs.) ,  99 

Histoire  de  France  (von  Ranke), 

Histoire  de  Louvois   (Rousset), 

364 
Histoire    de   Madame    Plenriette 

d'Angleterre      (La     Fayette), 

I5I-T53»  T94,  271 
Histoire  de  Mile,  et  du  Comte  de 

Losun,  257 
Histoire  de  la  Musique  drama- 

tique  en  France   (Chouquet), 

213 
Histoire  de  V Opera   en  Europe 

(Rolland),  213 
Histoire  de  Paris,  V  (Delaure), 

21 
Histoire  de  la  Princesse  de  Paph- 

lagonie  (Mademoiselle),  132 
Histoires  de  la  Detention  des  Phi- 

losophes  (Delort),  312 


Hoguete,  Fortin  de  la,  140 
Holland,    war   between   France 

and,  235,  318,  330 
Honsett,  M.  du,  305 
Hopital,  Marechal  de  1',  75 
Hopital,  Mme.  de  1',  76 
Hospitals,  establishment  of,  87 
Hotel  Rambouillet,  14,  124 
Hotel  de  Ville,  the,  369 
Huet,  Dr.,  Memoir es  of,  10,  127, 

129 

Image  du  Souverain,  U ,  140 

Infortunes  dune  petite- fille 
d'Henri  IV.,  Les  (Rodoca- 
nachi),  138 

Inventaire  general  du  Comte 
d'Eu,  163 

Ipihgenie  (Racine),  227 

Isarn,  M.,  327-329 

Isle  des  Faisans  (Isle  de  la  Con- 
ference), 106-110 

Isle  Saint-Louis,  206 

Iturrieta,  Don  Miguel  de,  282 


acobins,  the,  375 
ansenism,  85 

ansenists,  87,  88,  129,  373 
esuits,  the,  79,  80,  83 
'Jeune  Alcidiane,  La   (Gomber- 

yille),  ii 

Joinville,  Prince  de.      See  Lor- 
raine 

Joly,  Mme.,  90 
Jourdain,  Mme.,  115 
Journal  des  Guerres  civiles  (Du- 

buisson-Aubenay) ,  92 
Journal  d  Olivier  Lefevre  d'Or- 
messon,    159,    174,    177,    186, 
194,  197,  285,  287,  301,  332, 

Journal  de  Voyage  de  deux  jeunes 

Hollandais  a  Paris,  72,  73,  75, 

76 

Joyeuse,  Due  de.     See  Lorraine 
Joyeuse,     Henriette    Catherine, 

Duchesse  de.      See  Montpen- 

sier 
Jusserand,   J.   J.,   Les  sports   et 

jeuoc  d'exercice  dans  Vancienne 

France,  by  7 


Index 


385 


Kant,  Emanuel,  220 

Kant  als  Mensch  (Adickes),  220 

Kreutzer  Sonata  (Tolstoi),  220 


La  Bruyere,  269 

La    Calprenede,  Cassandre   and 

Cleopatre,  by,  u 
Lacour-Gayet,  L 'Education  poli- 

tique  de  Louis  XIV.,  by,  64,  67 
La  Duverger,  211 
La  Fare,  Marquis  de,  Memoir es 

et  Reflexions  of,  248,  283,  287, 

290,  302,  310,  339 
La  Fayette,  Mme.  de,  134;  His- 

toire     de    Madame     Henriette 

d'Angleterre,      151-153,      194, 

271;    Princesse  de  Clives,by, 

153;  Memoir  es  de  la  Cour  de 

France,  209,  363 
La  Fontaine,  letters  of,  26,  27, 

54;  fables  of,   107,   in,   109, 

203;  appointment  of,  191 
Lair,  J.  Louise  de  La  Valliere, 

by,  180 

Lalanne,  Ludovic,  303 
Lamoignon,  Mme.  de,  88,  92 
Landrecies,  263-265 
Lansac,  Mme.  de,  67 
La    Reynie,    Lieut. -General    of 

Police,  209,  210,  343-346 
La  Riviere,  374 
La  Rochefoucauld,  n,  130,  134, 

256.  369 

La  Saussaye,  L'Histoire  du  Cha- 
teau de  Blois,  by,  26 

Lauzun,  Antonin  Nompar  de 
Caumont,  Marquis  de  Puy- 
guilhem,  Comte  de,  238;  ca- 
reer of,  243-247;  intrigues  of, 
245,246,249-251;  relations  of 
with  Mme.  de  Montespan, 
245,  246,  282,  287,  290,  309; 
description  of.  243,  244,  248, 
262,  324,  356;  in  the  Bastile, 
247;  character  of,  248-251, 

269,  287,    356-359,    367-369; 
projected  marriage  of  Madem- 
oiselle   with,     251-257,     267- 

270,  276,  279-281,    284,   293; 
25 


tacit  consent  of  Louis  to 
marriage,  281-283  »  generous 
gifts  of  Mademoiselle  to,  288, 
289,  355;  marriage  broken  off, 
290-297,  317,  326;  question  of 
secret  marriage  with  Mile., 
304-308,  349;  arrest  and  im- 
prisonment of,  310-324,  350; 
the  "caskets"  of,  317;  at- 
tempted escape  of,  325,  326, 
350;  communi  cates  with 
Foucquet,  326;  interview  of, 
with  his  family,  327-329;  re- 
leased from  prison,  329,  349, 
35 4 »  3595  forced  to  renounce 
gifts  of  Mile.,  353,  354;  reim- 
prisoned,  354;  forbidden  to 
return  to  Court,  354,  355,  360, 
361;  saves  Queen  of  England, 
363;  Order  of  the  Garter  and 
title  conferred  upon,  364; 
marriage  of,  366;  death  of,  369 

Lauzun,  Chevalier  de,  327 

Lauzun,  Mme.  de,  married  life 
of,  366-369 

Laval,  Marquise  of,  6 

La  Valliere,  Laurent  de  La 
Baume  Le  Blanc,  Seigneur  de, 

T34 

La  Valliere,  Louise  de,  youth  of, 
134;  relations  of,  with  Louis 
XIV.,  150,  153-156,  172,  176, 
178,  193;  made  Duchess,  154; 
position  of,  officially  recog- 
nised, 197,  233,  234,  258,  315, 
334,  336;  attacked  by  Bos- 
suet,  200;  successor  to,  208- 
210;  marriage  of  daughter, 
337;  character  of,  339;  retires 
to  convent,  339 

La  Voisin,  the  poisoner,  207, 
208,  210,212;  clients  of,  207, 
208,  210-212,  342,  344-346, 

Lemaitre,  Jules,  81 

Lemoine,  Jean,  and  Andre  Lich- 
tenberger,  De  La  Valliere  a 
Montespan,  by,  175,  229,  263, 

335 

Le  Notre,  176 

Le  Pelletier,  Claude,  186,  286 
Lesage  (Dubuisson),  204;  arrest 

and  trial  of,  210-212,  348 


386 


Index 


Lesdiguieres,  Due  de,  75,  76 

Lesigny,  46 

Le  Tellier,  Michel,  25,  94 

Lettres  historiques  et  edifiantes. 
See  Maintenon 

Libertins,  the,  148,  153,  157, 
159,  182 

Lichtenberger,  Andre*.  See  Le- 
moine 

Limay,  89 

Limours,  Chateau  of,  25 

Lionne,  Hugues  de,  148 

Lit  de  Justice,  19,  20 

Livet,  257,  297 

Loing,  valley  of  the,  4,  9,  12 

Loire,  the,  28,  29 

Loisejeur,  Jules,  Problemes  his- 
toriques, by,  63 

Longueville,  Due  de  (Count  de 
Saint-Paul),  256,  257,  270 

Longueville,  Duchesse  de,  256, 

369 

Loret,  Gazette  of,  18,  20,  30,  171— 
174,  178,  179,  227,  258,  272, 

365 
Lorges,  Marechal  de,  daughter 

of,  marries  Lauzun,  366-369 
Lorraine,  Charles  III.,  Due  de, 

J37 

Lorraine,  Chevalier  de,  275 
Lorraine,    Due    de,    cruelty    of 

army  of,  38,  84 
Lorraine,  Henri  de,  42 
Lorraine,  House  of,  42,  294 
Lorraine,  Louis  de,  Comte  d'Ar- 

magnac,  237 
Lorraine,    Louis    de,    Due    de 

Guise,  294,  295 
Lorraine,  Louis  de,  Due  de  Joy- 

euse,  death  of,  161,  168 
Lorraine,     Louis     Joseph     de, 

Prince  de  Joinville,  161,  168 
Lorraine,    Marguerite    de    (Ma- 
dame).    See  Orleans 
Lorraine,  Prince  Charles  de,  137 
Lorraine,  Prince  de,  252 
Louis  XIII.,  25,  243;  death  of, 

102 

Louis  XIV.,  returns  to  Paris,  2, 
19,  24;  occupations  of  Court 
of,  7,  230-232;  dictates  to 
Parliament,  19,  23;  holds  Lit 
de  Justice,  19,  20;  escorts 


Mazarin  to  Paris,  20;  fondness 
of,  for  fetes  and  ballets,  21,  75, 
120,  172,  176,  178-181,  315; 
growing  power  of,  22-24,  59, 
170,  171;  education  of,  31,  63- 
68,  371;  proposed  marriages 
of,  48,  77,  94,  96;  permits 
Mademoiselle  to  return  to 
Court,  57-59;  effect  of  Fronde 
upon,  58,  65,  68,  278,  370; 
character  of ,  68-72,  101;  lack 
of  etiquette  at  Court,  in  youth 
of,  77,  78;  infatuation  of,  for 
Marie  Mancini,  77,  97,  193, 
228;  cruelty  of  armies  of,  84; 
journeys  of,  94,  97-100,  103, 
104,  199,  257;  pardons  Conde, 
100,  101;  ignorance  of,  103, 
104,  112-116;  marriage  of,, 
with  Marie-Therese,  103-111; 
interviews  of,  with  Philip  IV., 
106,  107;  letters  of,  108,  183, 
184,  188,  189;  begins  to  gov- 
ern without  minister,  113, 
114;  systematic  regulation  of 
his  time,  116,  117;  growth  of 
absolute  monarchy,  118,  119, 
128,  138-142,  371;  fondness 
of,  for  gaming,  133,  333;  re- 
forms abuses  with  Colbert, 
141,  142;  proposes  marriage 
of  Mile,  with  King  of  Portu- 
gal, 142-146,  160,  185;  ban- 
ishes Mile,  for  refusing  mar- 
riage, 147,  148,  161;  Queen's 
lack  of  influence  over,  149- 
151,  154;  passionate  tempera- 
ment of,  153-155,  170,  193, 
219,  220;  relations  of,  with 
Madame,  153,  194,  228; 
strained  relations  with  his 


mother,  153,  157;  relations  of, 
with  La  Valliere,  153-156, 
172,  176,  193,  197;  Mewioires 


written  for  Dauphin,  154-156, 
179;  opinion  of  women,  155, 
193,  194;  conduct  of,  disap- 
proved, 157-159;  religious 
opinions  of,  156,  212,  213, 
374;  influence  of  Mme.  de 
Maintenon  upon,  _  156,  193, 
219,  339;  acquires  Dun- 
kerque,  173;  takes  up  perma- 


Index 


387 


Louis  XIV. — Continued 

nent   residence   at  Versailles, 

174,  370;  size  of  Court,   174, 

175,  258;  hospitality  of,  175- 
177;    plans    Savoie    marriage 
for     Mademoiselle,     185-190, 
236;  effect  of  mother's  death 
on,  195-197,  199;  relations  of, 
with    Mme.    de    Montespan, 
193,  209,  210,  212,  229,  333, 
338-342;  frames  rules  of  eti- 
quette relating  to  position  of 
mistresses,  197,  233-235,  315, 
334-336;    boldness    of    Court 
preachers,    200,    201;    orders 
prosecution  of  Mariette  and 
Lesage,     210-212;     lover    of 
music,  218-220;  sustains  Ra- 
cine  and   Moliere,    224,    227, 
228;  death  of  infant  daughter, 
233;  with  the  army,  235,  361; 
Lauzun  a  favourite  of,  243- 
247,  250,   251,  254,  257;  dis- 
comforts of  travelling  in  1670, 
258-267;    plans    marriage    of 
Mile,     with     Monsieur,     274, 
276-278;  tacitly  consents  to 
marriage      of      Mademoiselle 
with  Lauzun,   282,   283,  286; 
withdraws  consent,   290-293, 
295,  296;  treatment  of  Made- 
moiselle,   299-301;    Lauzun's 
imprisonment,  312-315,   323; 
charmed  with   new  sister-in- 
law,   315;  brilliancy  of  reign 
of.  33°.  33  x»  375;  power  and 
importance  of,    330-332;  ex- 
travagance of,  332-339;  love 
of   martial   display,  333-336; 
marriage    of    Mile,    de    Blois, 
337;  responsible  for  deteriora- 
tion of  manners  and  morals, 
338-341,  372;  finds  presump- 
tive proof  of  guilt  of  Madame 
de  Montespan,  343~347»  349 \ 
orders  destruction  of  records, 
343,  344,  369;  turns  to  Mme. 
de  Maintenon,   339-341;  dis- 
misses  Mme.   de   Montespan, 
341,     342;      establishes     the 
Chambre    ardente,    343;    sup- 
presses the  Chambre  ardente, 
347;  marriage  of,  with  Mme. 


de  Maintenon,  305,  370;  effect 
of  reign  of,  upon  France,  371- 
373;  Memoires  of,  58,  66,  68- 
70,    114,    141,    142,    154-156, 
179,  193,  278,  355 
Louise  de  La  Valliere  (Lair),  180 
Louvois,    letters   to,    209,    311, 
325;  enemy  of  Lauzun,   244, 
245,    247,    287,    288;  instruc- 
tions of,  concerning  Lauzun, 
310-313,  318-323,  325;  letters 
of,   344,   347;  sent  to  coerce 
Mademoiselle,  352 
Louvre,  Palace  of  the,  Mazarin 
returns  to,  20;  Court  at,  65, 
78,  82,  in,  112,  122;  fete  at, 
178 
Lulli,  Baptiste,  operas  of,  216, 

217,  218,  220,  221 
Luxembourg,  Due  de,  344 
Luxembourg,     palace     of     the, 
Monsieur  at,  24;  Mademoiselle 
returns  to,   72,  76,   121;  Ma- 
dame occupies,  102,  121,  191, 
285 ;  salon  of  Mademoiselle  at, 
122,   123,   125,   133-136,  148, 

222,   223,    288,    296,    297,    361 

Luynes,  Constable  de,  243 

Lyonne,  M.  de,  293 

Lyons,  Court  at,  94,  96,  258 

M 

Madame.  See  Orleans,  Henri- 
etta, and  Palatine 

Madame  de  Montespan  et  Louis 
XIV.  (Clement),  282,  349 

Madame,  Memoirs  of  Henrietta, 
Duchess  of  Orleans  (Cart- 
wright),  136 

Madelaine,  50 

Mademoiselle,  La  Grande.  See 
Montpensier 

Magie  dans  I'Inde  antique,  La 
(Henry),  210 

Mailly,  Chateau  of,  263 

Maine,  Due  du,  351,  352 

Maintenon,  Mme.  de  (Mme. 
Scarron),  Letters  of  (Geoffroy, 
ed.),  63,  64;  Souvenirs  sur, 
150,  151,  230;  influence  of, 
over  Louis  XIV.,  71,  156,  193, 
219,  339-341,  374;  governess 


388 


Index 


Maintenon,  Mme.  de — Cont'd 
to  King's  children,  290,  309, 
310;  Lettres  historiques  et  edi- 
fiantes,  of,  291;  King  marries, 

3°5»  37° 
Mairet,  223 
Malade  Imaginaire  (Moliere) , 

109 
Mancini,  Marie,  niece  of  Mazarin, 

77,  96,  193,  228,  339 
"Mandate,"  the,  286 
Mansard,  Francois,  26 
Man  with  the  Iron  Mask,  the, 

3°4,  329 

Mane  Antoinette,  23 

Marie  Therese,  Infanta  of  Spain, 
marriage  of,  with  Louis  XIV., 
103-1 1 1 ;  political  opinions  of, 
1 18;  unhappy  married  life  of, 
149-151,  154,  172;  character 
of,  149-151,  196,  252,  260, 
261,  264-266,  271;  friendly 
relations  of,  with  Mme.  de 
Montespan,  209,  210,  233- 
235;  friendship  of,  for  Mme. 
de  Maintenon,  341;  death  of, 

37.o 

Manette,  priest,  204,  210;  arrest 
and  trial  of,  210-212 

Marigny,  La  Relation  des  Diver- 
tissements que  le  Roi  a  donnes 
aux  Reines,  by,  173 

Marly,  336  » 

Martinozzi,  Anne  Marie,  niece  of 
Mazarin,  48 

Mascarille,  Marquis  de,  76 

Mauny,  Marquise  de,  13,  131 

Mazarin,  Cardinal,  power  of,  n, 
*6,  25,  38,  39,  45,  47 ;  triumph- 
al return  of,  20;  obtains  par- 
don for  Mademoiselle,  48,  52, 
53,  56;  detestation  of,  60,  61; 
rapacity  of,  60-62,  112;  re- 
lations of,  with  Anne  of  Aus- 
tria, 62,  63,  304;  created 
Cardinal,  63;  treatment  of 
Louis  XIV.,  65-67,  69,  70,  74; 
nieces  of,  77,  82,  96,  97,  237; 
letter  of  protest  to,  84;  signs 
peace  of  Pyrenees,  99, 107 ;  dif- 
ficulties of,  in  settling  points 
of  etiquette  relating  to  King's 
marriage,  105,  106;  instruc- 


tions of,  to  Louis,  112,  113; 
death  of ,  113,  116,  141;  oppo- 
sition of,  to  Compagnie  du 
Saint  Sacrement,  158,  198;  in- 
troduces Italian  opera  into 
France,  215 

Medicis,  Catherine  de',  67,  113 

Meilleraye,  Due  de  la  (Due  de 
Mazarin),  77 

Melanges  (Delamare),  285 

Memoires,  See  Aumale,  Bussy- 
Rabutin,  Choisy,  Goulas,  Huet, 
La  Fare,  La  Fayette,  Mont- 
pensier,  Motteville,  Saint- 
Simon,  Sourches,  etc. 

Memoires  of  Louis  XIV.  See 
under  Louis  (editors,  Dreyss 
and  Petitot). 

Memoires  de  Montglat,  25,  59,62, 
100,  108 

Memoires-Relations  du  temps,  179 

Memoires  sur  la  Vie  et  lesOuvrages 
de  Jean  Racine  (Racine),  227 

Menage,  222,  226 

Mercure  Galant,  365 

Mignet,  Negociations  relatives  a  la 
succession  d'Espagne,  by,  143 

Miot.     See  Porchat. 

Misere  au  temps  de  la  Fronde  et 
Saint  Vincent  de  Paul,  La 
(Feillet),  82,  84 

Mithridate  (Racine),  228 

Moliere,  returns  to  Paris,  81; 
plays  of,  109,  124,  131,  132, 
180,  181,  202,  216,  231,  374, 
376;  representations  of ,  given 
at  Versailles  and  the  Luxem- 
bourg, 178,  180,  181,  221,  222; 
opposition  to  Racine  and, 
223-227;  King  sustains,  227, 
228 

"Moliere,"  of  the  Grands  Ecri- 
vains  de  la  France  (Hachette), 

176,    179,    202 

Monsieur,     See    Orleans,     Gas- 
ton,  Due  d'. 
Monsieur,    the   little.     See  An- 

jou,  Philippe,  Due  d'. 
Montausier,   Due  de,   264,   282, 

287,  297,  306 

Montausier,  Mme.  de,  263 
Montbazon,  Duchesse  de,  126 
Montchevreuil,  M.  de,  230 


Index 


389 


Montespan,  Marquis  de,  229 
Montespan,  Marquise  de,  sup- 
plants La  Valliere,  80, 193, 209, 
210;  marriage  of,  172,  209,  229; 
description  of,  209,  230;  client 
of  La  Voisin,  210,  212,  342; 
criminal  charges  against,  212, 
344-348;  position  of,  233,  258- 
271,  3*5.  334-336;  assumes 
habits  of  royalty,  233-235; 
relations  of,  with  Lauzun, 
245,  246,  282,  287,  354;  be- 
trays Lauzun,  290,  291,  296, 
309,  310,  322,  323;  children 
of,  290,  344,  351,  352;  ex- 
travagance of,  333,  336;  char- 
acter of,  339,  340,  342;  dis- 
missal of,  341,  342,  350,  351; 
evidence  against  destroyed, 

343 

Monteverde,  Ariane,  by,  214 

Montigny,  Abbe  de,  263 

Montmedy,  59 

Montmorency-Boutteville,   78 

Montmorency,  25 

Montpensier,  Anne  Marie  Louise 
d' Orleans,  Duchess  of,  La 
Grande  Mademoiselle,  possi- 
ble marriage  of,  with  Louis 
XIV.,  2,  48;  character  of,  2, 
56,  59,  184 

Montpensier,  Mile.,  alliance  of, 
with  Conde,  3,  16,  17,  33,  38, 
45.  55,  56;  exiled  to  Saint-Far- 
geau,  3-20,32-39,  43-48; hero- 
ine of  Porte  Saint-Antoine, 
3,  53.  58,  59,  72,  261,  370; 
amusements  at  court  of  St.- 
Fargeau,  7-10,  17-20,  148; 
literary  tastes  of,  8-10,  15,  18, 
73,  132,  221,  224-226,  229; 
begins  her  Memoires,  15; 
rumoured  marriage  of,  with 
Conde,  16;  litigation  of,  with 
father,  34,  37,  41-44,  51-54; 
wealth  of,  35-38,  145,  163, 
185,  256;  skilful  management 
of  her  affairs,  36,  37,  49; 
breaks  with  Conde,  46,  47,  52; 
makes  overtures  to  Mazarin, 
47,  48;  wins  Champigny  law- 
suit, 49-51,  125;  permitted  to 
return  to  Court,  54,  55,  57~59*, 


never  fully  forgiven,  58,  59, 
101,  169,  186,  197,  370;  pro- 
posed marriage  of,  with  little 
Monsieur,  59,  73,  272-278; 
takes  up  residence  in  the 
Luxembourg,  72,  121,  122; 
popularity  of,  in  Paris,  72, 
366;  description  of,  72-74; 
astonished  at  lack  of  eti- 
quette at  Court,  75-79;  visits 
Port-Royal,  79,  80;  visits 
Dombes,  95,  96;  Monsieur's 
duplicity  towards,  98,  99; 
grieves  at  death  of  Monsieur, 
fo2,  103;  present  at  marriage 
of  Louis  XIV.,  105-111;  ill- 
health  of,  120;  salon  of,  122- 
125,  131-136,  148,  223,  224, 
226;  describes  blue  room  of 
Mme.  de  Rambouillet,  132, 
133;  letters  of,  160,  170,  183; 
letters  to,  183,  188,  189,  348; 
proposed  marriages  of,  136- 
138;  grudge  of  Charles  II. 
against,  136,  137;  King  plans 
marriage  of,  with  King  of 
Portugal,  142-146,  160,  161; 
refuses  to  marry  Alphonse, 
145-147,  160,  185;  second 
exile  of,  147,  160-170,  182, 
184;  proposed  marriage  of, 
with  Due  de  Savoie,  147,  185- 
190,  236;  buys  Comte  d'  Eu, 
161-168;  installed  at  Eu,  169, 
170;  recalled  to  Court,  184- 
187;  failure  of  proposed  mar- 
riages of,  189-192;  patroness 
of  Lulli,  221;  cultivates  Mme. 
de  Montespan,  229,  230,  233- 
236;  change  in  sentiments  of, 
235;  advancing  age  of,  236, 
254,  277,  278;  infatuation  of, 
for  Lauzun,  238-242,  250, 
262,  279-281,  359,  360;  de- 
scribes Lauzun,  248;  makes 
proposals  of  marriage  to,  251- 
256,  267-270,  279,  280;  Lau- 
zun's  treatment  of,  253-256, 
261,  275-277,  279,  281,  357- 
360;  proposed  de  Longueville 
marriage  of,  256,  257,  270; 
as  a  traveller,  262-267;  a^ 
death-bed  of  Madame,  270- 


390 


Index 


272;  King's  tacit  consent  to 
marriage  with  Lauzun,  281- 
283,  2  86;  criticism  of  projected 
marriage  by  all  classes,  285, 
286;  bestows  principalities 
and  titles  upon  Lauzun,  288, 
307;  preparing  for  marriage, 
289,  290,  296;  King  refuses 
consent,  290-293,  295,  296, 
353,  354;  marriage  with  Lau- 
zun broken  off,  291-293,  296, 
297,  317,  326;  appeals  in  vain 
to  King,  291-293,  315,  316; 
grief  and  despair  of,  296-303; 
widespread  belief  in  secret 
marriage  of,  304-309,  349, 
353,  358;  learns  of  Lauzun' s 
arrest  and  imprisonment, 
310-314;  efforts  of,  to  obtain 
release  of  Lauzun,  317,  318, 
348-352;  traditional  daughter 
of,  349;  price  demanded  from, 


for  liberation  of  Lauzun,  351, 

h< 

:,    31^ 
Louis  and  Mme.  de  Montes- 


352;  makes  Due  du  Maine  her 
heir,    351,    352;    tricked    by 


pan,  354;  Lauzun  forced  to 
renounce  gifts  of,  354;  com- 
pensates Lauzun,  355;  devo- 
tion of,  to  Lauzun  after  his 
liberation,  356-360;  constant 
quarrels  with  Lauzun,  357- 
361;  final  break  with  Lauzun, 
362,  363,  366;  illness  and 
death  of,  365,  366;  burial  of, 
at  St.  Denis,  366;  last  of 
actors  in  the  Fronde,  369; 
great  qualities  of,  377 
Montpensier,  Mile.,  Memoir es  of, 
3,  4,  8,  15,  23,  36,  45,  55,  59, 
79,  97,  98,  102,  105,  106,  121, 
125,  131,  136,  138,  143,  160, 

169,  l82,  210,  221,  222,  230, 
238-240,  255,  256,  262,  269, 

297,  305,  308,  3I5-3I7,  339, 
347,  348,  35°,  353,  356,  361 

Montpensier,  duchy  of,  49; 
given  to  Lauzun,  288 

Montpensier,  Henri  de  Bourbon, 
Due  de,  42 

Montpensier,  Henriette  Cather- 
ine de  Joyeuse,  Duchesse  de, 
42 


Montresor,   Claude  de   Bourde- 

ville,  Comte  de,  161 
Montvoisin,  Antoine,  206-208 
Montvoisin,  Catherine  "La  Voi- 

sin"   the   poisoner,   207,   208, 

210,  212 

Morale  de  Salomon,  Lat  127 
Moret,  mock  siege  of,  334,  335 
Morin  the  Jew,  76 
Mortemart,  Mile,  de  (Mme.  de 

Montespan),  172 
Motteville,  Mme.  de,  31,  49,  62, 

66,    116,    135,    149,    150,    195; 

Memo^res    of,    73,    100,    104, 

109,  112,  113,  116,  135,  149, 

150  154, 170, 190, 195 

Moucny,  199 


N 


Nallot,  M.  de,  310,  311 
Nantes,  Revocation  of  Edict  of, 

331,374 

Necromancy,  202-207 

Negotiations  relatives  a  la  suc- 
cession   d'Espagne    (Mignet), 

T43 
Nemours,  Henri  de  Savoie,  Due 

de,  185 
Nemours,     Marie-Jeanne     Bap- 

tiste  de,  190 
Nemours,     the     Mesdemoiselles 

de,  185,  190 

Nesmond,  Pr6sidente  de,  90- 
Nevers,  Duchesse  de,  347 
Nimeguen,  peace  of,  331 
Noailles,    Due    de     (Comte    d' 

Ayen),  270 

Noailles,  Mme.  de,  248 
Nogent,  Mme.  de,  290,  327-329 
Nolhac,  M.  de,  La  Creation  de 

Versailles,  by,  176 
Nouvelles   Francaises,   Les    (Se- 

grais),  8 
Nuitter  and  Thoinan,  Les  Ori- 

gines  de  V  Opera  Francais,  by, 

213 


CEillets,  Mile,  des,  „  . 
CEuvres  completes  (Saint-Pierre), 
365 


Index 


CEuvres  galantes  en  vers  et  en 

prose  (Cotin),  223 
CEuvres   de   Louis  XIV.  Lettres 

particulieres,  188 
Olivet,  Abbe  d',  222 
Opera,    Italian,   birth  of,    214- 

216;  French,  215,  216 
Origines  de  I' Opera  Frangais,  Les 

(Nuitter  and  Thoinan),  213 
Orleans,  city  of,  33,  34,  39,  42, 

49,  53 

Orleans,  House  of,  35,  37 
Orleans,  Gaston,  Due  d'  (Mon- 
sieur), character  of,  3,  23-25, 
28-30,  44,  52,  97-99;  exiled  to 
Blpis,  24-33;  piety  of,  29,  30; 
children  of,  31,  34,  37,  39,  42, 

77,  97-99,  I05,  Io6>  J33,  *34, 
137,  138,  186,  235,  294;  pil- 
lages daughter's  fortune,  35- 
37,  39-44,  1 68;  under  Court 
protection,  38-40,  48,  49; 
litigation  of,  with  Madem- 
oiselle, 37,  41-44,  51-54', 
death  and  burial  of,  101,  102 

Orleans,  Henrietta  of  England 
(Madame),  wife  of  Philippe 
Due  d'.  See  Henrietta 

Orleans,  Marguerite  de  Lor- 
raine (Madame),  second  wife 
of  Gaston, Due  d',  24,  43, 191, 
285,  286;  daughters  of,  31,  34, 
37,  39,  42,  77,  97-99,  105,  106, 
133,  134,  137,  138,  186,  188, 
235,  294;  character  of,  101, 
102,  121,  122,  133,  134 

Orleans,  Marguerite  Louise, 
Mile,  d',  daughter  of  Mon- 
sieur, 97,  98,  133;  marriage 
of,  137,  138 

Orleans,  Marie  Louise  d',  daugh- 
ter of  little  Monsieur,  277; 
marriage  of,  277 

Orleans,  Mgr.  Due  d',  162 

Orleans,  Philippe,  Due  d'.  See 
Anjou 

Ormesson,  Andr6  d',  22,  48 

Ormesson,  Olivier  Lefevre  d', 
Journal  of,  48,  76,  118,  159, 
174,  177,  186,  194,  197,  285, 
287,  301.  331,  332,  335;  dis- 
grace of,  118,  332 

Ormond,  Marquis  d',  137 


Palatine,  Anne  de  Baviere, 
Princesse,  174 

Palatine,  Anne  de  Gonzague 
Princesse,  106 

Palatine,  Elisabeth  Charlotte  de 
Baviere,  Princesse  (Madame), 
second  wife  of  Philippe  Due 
d'Orleans,  62,  156,  315 

Paraphrases  des  sept  Psaumes 
de  la  Penitence,  127 

Paris,  Archbishop  of,  287,  288 

Paris,  King  and  Court  return  to, 

2,  19-21,  24,  65,  110,  174,  28i; 

opinion  of  King  in,  71;  com- 
mittee of  relief  founded  in, 
87-93;  carnival  in,  93,  94; 
Queen's  entrance  into,  in; 
commerce  in,  142;  magic  arts 
in,  201-206,  342-344;  bridges 
of,  206;  lampoons  against 
Louis  in,  335;  dungeons  of, 
347;  cradle  of  French  revolu- 
tions, 370,  376 

Parliament,  the,  Louis  XIV. 
dictates  to,  19,  20,  23,  76; 
dictates  to  royalty,  68,  69; 
petition  to,  162;  decrees  of, 
167,  1 68;  privileges  of,  371 

Parma,  Due  de,  189 

Patin,  Guy,  letters  of,  71,  113, 
117 

Pedagogue  chretien,  324 

Pellison,  Lettres  historiques,  by, 
258 

Perefixe,  Abbe"  de,  66,  67,  115 

Perroquet  ou  Les  Amours  de 
Mademoiselle,  Le  257,  282 

Pertharite  (Corneille)*  80 

Petitot,  editor  Memoir es  of 
Louis  XIV.,  66 

Pkedre  (Racine),  224 

Philip  IV.  of  Spain,  103,  104, 
142,  149;  interviews  of,  with 
Louis  XIV.  and  Anne  of  Aus- 
tria, 106-110;  death  of,  173 

Picardy,  87,  165 

Pignerol,  fortress  of,  310,  311, 
318,  319,  325,  329,  351,  355, 

356,  358 

Pimbesche,  Countess  of,  origi- 
nal of,  36,  191 


392 


Index 


Plaideurs  (Racine),  227 
Plaisirs  de  Vile  enchantee,  176 
Poisons,  Les  (La  Fontaine),  203 
Poland,    Marie     de    Gonzague, 

Queen  of,  and  Port-Royal,  88, 

92;  letters  to,  117,  174,  175, 

z  86 

Polexandre  (Gomberville) ,  n 
Polignac,  Vicomtesse  de,  344 
Pomponne,  M.  de,  293,  297;  La 

Correspondence  de  Pomponne, 

297 

Pont  Marie,  206 
Porchat,    Jacques,     and    Miot, 

Histoire  de  France,  tr.  by,  99 
Porte  Saint-Antoine,  heroine  of, 

3»  S3.  59.  72,  37° 
Port  Royal  des  Champs,  79,  88, 

92 

Port-Royal  (Sainte-Beuve) ,  82 
Portugal,       independence       of, 

threatened,  142;  King  of,  143- 

145,  160,  185 
Portugal,  Queen  of,  190 
Precieuses   Ridicules,   Les    (Mo- 

lieTe),  124 
Prefontaine,  33,  35,  36,  41,  43» 

44,  5°.  53 
Princesse  de  Cleves  (La  Fayette) , 

J53 
Princesse  d' Elide  (Molilre),  180, 

216 
Probttmes     Historiques     (Loise- 

leur),  63 

Provinciates,  the,  79 
Provins,  84 
Puyguilhem,    Marquis   de.     See 

Lauzun 
Pyrenees,  peace  of  the,   2,  99, 

100,  107 
Pyrrhus  (Racine),  224 


Q 


"Queens,  the  three,"  233 
Quinault,  tragedies  of,  80,  81, 
216,  217,  220 


Racan,  Honorat  de  Bueil,  Mar- 
quis de.     See  Barthelemy 
Racine,  Jean,  tragedies  of,  8,  81, 


223-229;  and  Corneille  com- 
pared, 223-227;  King's  ap- 
preciation of,  224,  227,  228 

Racine,  Louis,  Memoir es  sur  la 
Vie  et  les  Ouvrages  de  Jean 
Racine,  by,  227 

Rambouillet,  Hotel,  14,  224 

Rambouillet,  Mme.  de,  salon  of, 
123 

Rampillon,  84 

Ranke,  Leopold  von,  Histoire  de 
France,  by,  99,  330 

Rapin,  Father,  181 

Ravaisson,  Francois,  Archives  de 
la  Bastille,  by,  201,  312 

Ravetot,  Marquis  de,  211 

Regent,  the,  62,  372,  374 

Reims,  55,  56 

Reims,  Archbishop  of,  288 

Relation  de  la  Cour  de  France 
(Spanheim),  374 

Relation  des  Divertissements  que 
le  Roi  a  donnes  aux  Reines,  La 
(Marigny),  173 

Relation  de  Vile  imaginaire,  La 
(Mademoiselle),  18,  132 

Relations  des  Ambassadeurs  Ve- 
nitiens,  65 

Relations  of  de  Bernieres,  87-90 

Remerciement  au  Rot  (Moliere), 
231 

Retz,   Cardinal  de,   20,   24,   25, 

113,  369,  377 

Richelieu,  u,  25,  28,  30,  50,  55 

Robert,  Procurer-General,  344 

Robespierre,  375 

Rochefort,  287,  336 

Roche-sur-Yon,  49 

Rocroy,  101 

Rodocanachi,  M.,  Les Infortunes 
d'une  petite- fille  d'  Henri  IV., 
by,  138 

Rohan,  Marie-Eleonore  de,  Ab- 
bess, 126,  127 

Roland  furieux,  178 

Rolland,  Remain,  Histoire  de 
V  Opera  en  Europe,  by,  213,220 

Romecourt,  265,  266 

Roquelaure,  148 

Rosen,  de,  84 

Rousseau,  Sieur,  293 

Rousset,  Camille,  Histoire  de 
Louvois,  by,  364 


Index 


393 


s 


Sainct6t,  Mme.  de,  131 
Saint-Aignan,  Due  de,  178 
Saint  Antoine  de  Padua,  205 
Saint-Cloud,  Chateau  of,  54,  269 
Saint-Cyr,  63 

Saint-Denis,     burial     of     Mon- 
sieur    at,      102;      burial     of 
Mademoiselle  at,  366 
Sainte-Beuve,  Port-Royal,  by,  82 
Saint    Evremond,    The   Operas, 

by,  218 

Saint-Fargeau,       Chateau       of, 
Mademoiselle  exiled  to,  3-6, 
36,  73;  Mademoiselle's  Court 
at,  6-10,  12,  17-20,  129-131, 
135;    Mademoiselle  again  ex- 
iled to,  147,  148,  160,  169 
Saint-Genevieve  MS.,  257 
Saint-Germain-des  Pres,  73 
Saint-Germain-en-Laye,     Court 
at,    173     177,   239,   247,   258, 
269,  310,  313,  318,  353,  354 
Saint-Jean-de-Luz,     Court     at, 
104,    108;  marriage  of  Louis 
XIV.,  at,   no 

Saint- Joseph,  Convent  of,  234 
Saint-Mars,  Sieur  de,  310,  311; 
letter  of,  313;  letters  to,  318- 
321,  325-327,  329 
Saint-Paul,  Comte  de  (Due  de 

Longueville) ,  256,  257 
Saint-Pierre,    Bernardin   de,    9; 

CEuvres  completes  of,  365 
Saint  Quentin,  263 
Saint-Re"mi,  Jacques  de  Court- 

avel,  Marquis  de,  134 
Saint-Romain,  Abbe  de,  143 
Saint  Sacrement,  Compagnie  du, 
founding  of,  85-87,  93;  char- 
itable work  of,  157,  158;  nick- 
named,   157;    disapproves   of 
King's  conduct,  157-159,  373; 
blow  aimed  at,  181;  disorgan- 
isation of,  198,  199 
Saint-Severin,  Church  of,  210 
Saint-Simon,  Due  de,  at  Court, 
78,    116,   369,   370,   372;  Me- 
moires  of,  116,  161,  209,  212, 
234,  245,  255,  326,  353,  360, 
3 66- 3 68 »  372;    Ecrits    inedits 
of,  354,  35Q»  363.  364 


Saint-Sulpice,  73 

Saint  Vincent  de  Paul,  char- 
acter and  influence  of,  85 ; 
joins  Compagnie  du  Saint 
Sacrement,  87,  373;  head  of 
relief  work,  88-90,  157 

Saint  Vincent  de  Paul  (Broglie) , 
82,  91 

Saint-Vincent  de  Paul  et  les 
Gondi  (Chantelauze) ,  82 

Salic  law,  the,  105 

Sambre,  the,  264 

Savoie,  Charles  Emmanuel  II., 
Due  de,  marriages  of,  99,  147, 
±85,  186,  190,  236;  revenges 
himself  on  Louis  and  Mile., 
189,  190 

Savoie,  Marguerite,  Princesse 
de,  Louis  XIV.  refused  to 
marry,  94,  96,  189;  marries 
Due  de  Parma,  189 

Savoie,  Victor-Amedee  II.,  Due 
de,  marriage  of,  277 

Saxe-Jena,  Bernard,  Duke  of,  125 

Scarron,  Mme.  de.  See  Main- 
tenon 

Sceaux,  357 

Scudery,  Madeleine,  Mile,  de, 
258,  302;  Artamene  ou  le 
Grand  Cyrus,  by,  n,  125; 
Saturdays  of,  123,  124 

Scudery,  Mme.  de,  302,  342 

Sedan,  55-59,  73 

Segrais,  Mademoiselle's  secre- 
tary, 8,  9,  13,  134,  226,  286, 

306,  307,  349;  Les  Nouvelles 
Francaises,  by,  8,  9 

Segraisiana,  71,  279,  310 

Seignelay,  363,  364 

Seine,  the,  206 

Sevigne",  Mme.  de,  75,  80,  134, 
177,  200;  letters  of,  2,  n,  129, 
217,  218,  225,  235,  287,  288, 

307,  310,  337,  338,  345,  347, 
362;     letters    to,     248,     284, 

364 
Soissons,  Comtesse  de,  237,  271, 

„  336,  34i,  344^ 

Soissons,  Mane  de  Bourbon-,  291 

Somaize,    Le    Dictionnaire    des 

Precieuses,  by,   13 
Sourches,  Marquis  de,  Memoires 

of,  26 


394 


Index 


Souvenirs  de  Mme.  de  Caylus, 

I5°.  347 

Souvenirs  et  Correspondance  of 
Mme.  de  Caylus,  300 

Souvenirs  sur  Mme.  de  Main- 
tenon,  150,  219,  230,  341 

Spain,  wars  of,  with  France,  16, 
20,  23,  38,  55,  59,  83,  361; 
King  of,  103,  104,  142,  149, 
173;  etiquette  of  Court  of, 
104-111;  absolute  monarchy 
an  importation  from,  118, 
371;  war  of  Devolution  in, 
154,  257;  marriage  of  In- 
fanta of, — see  Marie-Therdse; 
power  of  France  over,  171, 

331 
Spanheim,  Ezechiel,  Relation  de 

la  Cour  de  France,  by,  374 
Sports    et   jeux    d'exercice   dans 

Vancienne  France,  Les   (Jus- 

serand),  7 
Suite    du    Menteur    (Corneille), 

T 

Tableau  de  la  Penitence,  Le,  324 
Tallemant,  31 
Tarente,  Princess  of,  125 
Tartuffe  (Molie're),  181,  182,  221, 

222,  374 

Terlon,  Chevalier  de,  293 
Theiner,  Pdre,  63 
The  Operas  (Saint  Evremond), 

218 

Thianges,  Mme.  de,  266,  347 
Thoinan.     See  Nuitter 
Tingry,  Princesse  de,  344 
Tolstoi,  Kreutzer  Sonata,  by,  220 
Torre,  Don  Diego  de  la,  282 
Toulouse,  Court  at,  99 
Tourraine,  50 
Tours,  346 

Tremouille,  Mile,  de  la,  125.  137 
Treport,  166,  349 
Tr6voux, 95 
Trianon,  235 

Tri chateau,  Marquis  de,  343 
Tuileries,  palace   of  the,  4,  19, 


Turenne,  20,  23,  53,  54,  61,  137,    Westphalia,  peace  of,  99 


369;  visits  and  letters  of,  to 
Mademoiselle,  143-146,  160 

Turin,  147,  319 

Tuscany,  Duke  of,  138 

U 

Urfe,  Honor<§  d',  VAstree,  by,  14, 

80 
Uzes,  Emmanuel  II.  de  Crussol, 

Due  d',  264 

V 

Valentinois,  Duchess  of,  75 

Vallot,  270 

Valois,  Anne  Marie  de,  daughter 
of  the  little  Monsieur,  277; 
marriage  of,  277 

Valois,  Franfoise  -  Madeleine, 
Mile,  de,  daughter  of  Mon- 
sieur, 133;  marriage  and 
death  of,  185,  188 

Vardes,  71,  148 

Vatel  128 

Vaujours,  duchy  of,  154 

Vendome,  Elisabeth  de,  185 

Vendome,  M.  de,  117 

Venice,  opera  houses  of,  214 

Ventadour,  Due  de,  85,  86 

Versailles,  palace  of,  26;  Louis 
XIV.  takes  up  residence  at, 
174,  370,  376;  fStes,  176-182, 
269.  333.  36S»  etc.;  expenses 
of,  336,  337 

Vers  d'Atys,  81 

Vexin,  Comte  de,  235 

Vie  de  Madame  de  Fouquerolles 
(Mademoiselle),  132 

Villeneuve-Saint-Georges,  89 

Villeroy,  Mar6chal  de,  290 

Villeroy,  Mme.  de,  75 

Vincennes,  in,  347 

Vis6,  Donneau  de  Mecure  Ga- 
lant,  365 

Vittori,  214 

Voiture,  131 

Voyage  de  Chapette  et  de  Bachau- 
mont,  32 

W 


Jl  Selection  from  the 
Catalogue  of 

G.  P.  PUTNAM'S   SONS 


Complete  Catalogues  sent 
on  application 


By  ARVEDE   BARINE 


The  Youth  o/ 
^  La  Grande 
Mademoiselle 

1627-1652 

Authorized  English  Version 

Octavo.    With  25  illustrations  from  contemporaneous  sources. 
Net,  $3.00.     (By  mail,  $3.25.) 

"  A  book  that  is  decidedly  interesting  and  that  is  well  worth  reading.  The  subject 
and  the  heroine  is  enough  to  make  the  volume  attractiye.  .  .  .  The  volume  is  hand- 
somely printed,  and  the  illustrations  are  representative  as  well  as  accurate."  —  The 
London  Spectator. 

"  This  brilliant  biography  sparkles  and  intoxicates  with  literary  vivacity.  In  con- 
nection with  the  career  of  the  astonishing  heroine,  the  author  presents  a  picture  that 
has  hardly  been  surpassed  of  Court  life  and  politics  in  France  in  the  seventeenth 
century.  The  illustrations  from  contemporary  prints  add  greatly  to  the  attractiveness 
of  this  fascinating  volume."  —  Chicago  Evening  Post. 


Louis  XIV 
La  Grande 
Mademoiselle 

1652-1693 

Authorized  English  Version 
Octavo.     With  30  illustrations.     Net,  $3.00.     (By  mail,  $3.25) 

(Uniform  with  "The  Youth  of  La  Grande  Mademoiselle") 

"A  new  work  on  I,a  Grande  Mademoiselle  by  ArvMe  Barine  is  a  promise  of  delight 
to  all  who  love  wit  and  wisdom.  .  .  .  It  is  bewildering  to  think  of  the  many  crowns 
and  coronets  that  might  have  rested  on  the  brow  of  the  dramatic  heroine,  a  heroine 
who  appears  and  disappears  in  clouds  of  dust,  with  regiments  of  cavalry  wheeling  and 
whirling  around  her  to  the  sound  of  the  trumpets—  the  stern  devotee  of  reason  who 
dismissed  one  of  her  maids  because  she  married  for  love  —  the  philosopher  who  de- 
bated in  her  mimic  court  whether  an  accepted  lover  is  more  unhappy  than  a  rejected 
lover  in  the  absence  of  the  beloved.  .  .  .  The  story  of  this  heroine  is  told  by  Barine 
with  that  art  which  conceals  art.  ...  It  forms  a  fitting  supplement  to  the  equally 
delightful  volume  which  preceded  it  describing  "The  Youth  of  I^a  Grande  Made- 
moiselle." —  London  Times. 


Mew  York-  G.  P.  PUTNAM'S   SONS  -  London 


By  ELIZABETH  W.  CHAMPNEY 


Romance  of  the  French  Abbeys 

Octavo.     With  2  Coloured,  9  Photogravure,  50  other 
Illustrations,  and  Ornamental  Headpieces 

"  A  delightful  blending  of  history,  art  and  romance.  .  .  .  Many  of 
the  stories  related  are  thrilling  and  none  the  less  exciting  because  they  belong 
to  history." — Chicago  Dial. 

' '  The  book  fully  carries  out  the  suggestion  of  Guizot, '  If  you  are  fond  of 
romance,  read  history.'  "—Boston  Transcript. 

Romance  of  the  Feudal  Chateaux 

Octavo.    With  40  Photogravure  and  other  Illustrations 

"The  author  has  retold  the  legends  and  traditions  which  cluster  about 
the  chateaux  and  castles,  which  have  come  down  from  the  Middle  Ages,  with 
the  skillful  touch  of  the  artist  and  the  grace  of  the  practiced  writer.  .  .  . 
The^story  of  France  takes  on  a  new  light  as  studied  in  connection  with  the 
architecture  of  these  fortified  homes."—  Christian  Intelligencer. 

Romance  of 
the  Renaissance  Chateaux 

Octavo.    With  40  Photogravure  and  other  Illustrations 

"  The  romances  of  those  beautiful  chateaux  are  placed  by  the  author  on 
the  lips  of  the  people  who  lived  in  them.  She  gives  us  a  feeling  of  intimacy  with 
characters  whose  names  belong  to  history." — N.  Y.  Mail  and  Express. 

"A  book  of  high  merit.  .  .  .  Good  history,  good  story,  and  good 
art."— Hartford  Courant. 

Romance  of 
the  Bourbon  Chateaux 

Octavo.     With  Coloured  Frontispiece  and  47  Photo- 
gravure and  other  Illustrations 

"  Told  with  a  keen  eye  to  the  romantic  elements,  and  a  clear  understand- 
ing of  historical  significance." — Boston  Transcript. 

41  It  is  a  book  that  will  be  read  with  interest  this  year  or  ten  or  twenty 
years  hence."— Hartford  Courant. 

Four  volumes.     Illustrated.    Each,  in  a  box,  net,  $3.00 
(By  mail,  $3.25.)   The  set,  4  volumes  in  a  box,  net,  $12.00 


Q.  P.  PUTNAM'S  SONS 

NEW  YORK  LONDON 


YC  7409 


